Goebbels: Landschaft Mit Entfernten Verwandten

The German composer Heiner Goebbels has written for ballet, film, and chamber groups; he’s played free improv and was a member of the rock band Cassiber; and he also creates and directs theater pieces. This album is a 2004 live recording of a performance of his opera, Landschaft mit entfernten Verwandten (Landscape with Distant Relatives). For the piece, Goebbels set texts by Gertrude Stein, Henri Michaux, T.S. Eliot, and others to music that draws on several styles. The Ensemble Modern, which performs throughout, bristles with energy on the minimalist, rhythmically dynamic “Schlachtenbeschreibung,” which has impressive vocals by baritone George Nigl. “Ove è dunque” showcases the Deutscher Kammerchor singing the words of the 16th-century Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno, while “Tanz Der Dervische” features Dietmar Wiesner’s Chinese bamboo flute accompanied by percussion. The album ends with “Principes,” a moody spoken-word track with ambient accompaniment. Landschaft reveals new details — musical and literary — on each listening.