The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!

The Squid's Ear
Facebook: Squidco Sales



Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Heiner Goebbels 
  The Italian Concerto
  (I Dischi di Angelica) 


  
   review by Brian Olewnick
  2009-09-23
Heiner Goebbels: The Italian Concerto (I Dischi di Angelica)

Heiner Goebbels first broke into the public consciousness in the mid 80s with "The Man in the Elevator", an exciting setting to music of the texts of Heiner Müller incorporating musicians from disparate traditions, managing to find common ground that was often compelling. He more or less continues the latter part of that conception here except that the sets of musicians are divided among the four pieces. In doing so, perhaps unfortunately, they end up having no direct dealings with each other.

The title track feature Goebbels (on prepared piano and percussion) and Chris Cutler (drums, "electrified" drums) in a kind of old-fashioned concerto setting, playing as soloists in front of a small orchestra, the Icarus Ensemble conducted by Yoichi Sugiyama (a modern enough assemblage, counting samplers and electric guitar among its members). The music fluctuates between the more stately offerings coming through the piano and the wilder, sometimes goofily so, contributions from Cutler. It's colorful enough but only hangs together loosely as a composition and Cutler's insistence on filling up every available space with not-that-interesting clatter wearies one after a while.

The three remaining works were performed with the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna under the direction of Franck Ollu. On the first of these, "Ou Bien Sunyatta", Goebbels engages the services of Boubacar Djebate [usually spelled "Diebate" or "Diabate"] (kora) and Sira Djebate (voice) and happily so. While Goebbels constructs an interesting, if somewhat brassily bombastic, orchestration to accompany Dejbate, it's almost beside the point as the latter's kora playing is gorgeous enough to transcend any excessive adornment. He plays a beautiful, simple pattern, repeating it with slight modifications, eventually accompanied by the emphatic vocal of (brother?) Sira. A lovely piece, regardless of who is more responsible. Trombonist Johannes Bauer, always a raucous pleasure to hear, is the featured player on "Die Faust im Wappen"; indeed the opening several minutes are given over to a fine selection of snarls, slurs, and general blatting before the orchestra enters, again somewhat portentously but with some Arabic overtones that leaven the load a bit. Bauer growls and roars throughout, the combination resulting in a boisterous, fun piece. The final offering, "So That the Blood Dropped to the Earth", brings in mezzosoprano Jocelyn B. Smith and revisits Heiner Müller, the text drawn from his "Surrogate Cities". Unfortunately, the pomposity that has lurked beneath the surface for a good portion of the music thus far bursts out into the open here, the vocals turning strident and an almost militaristic feel emerging. Objectively, not a bad bit of writing; the composition works well enough and amply fills its seven minutes with events; there's just the irresistible urge to find a pin to deflate all the pretension.

A mixed bag overall. Listeners who have followed Goebbels career will doubtless enjoy it for the most part. Those who fondly remember his earliest efforts, the ones with more of a streetwise feel and less of a sense of self-importance, might be put off.







Comments and Feedback:



The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Kim Jae Jung:
Shamanism
(Relative Pitch)



Joe McPhee/
Susanna Gartmayer/
John Edwards/
Maria Portugal:
Monster
(Klanggalerie)



Signe Emmeluth/
Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten/
Axel Filip:
Hyperboreal Trio
(Relative Pitch)



John Butcher/
John Edwards:
This Is
Not Speculation
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Izumi Kimura/
Lina Andonovska/
Dominique Pifarely:
Seven Dreams
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Jerome Deupree/
Sylvie Courvoisier/
Lester St. Louis/
Joe Morris:
Canyon
[2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Marc Baron/
Eric La Casa:
Contrefacons
(Swarming)



Francisco Lopez:
Untitled (
2021-2022)
[2 CDs]
(Bu Lang Tribute Cake)



Eventless Plot |
Haarvol:
The Subliminal Paths
[CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Innovo Editions)



Akmee:
Sacrum Profanum
(Nakama Records)



Karl Evangelista Quintet
feat. Bobby Bradford and
William Roper:
Solace Angles
(Asian Improv)



Sveio:
Latent Imprints
(577 Records)



The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters (
Rasmussen/
Mitelli/
Rezaei/
Koenig):
The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Dan Brown/
Dan Reynolds:
Live At
The Grange Hall
[unauthorized][CASSETTE]
(Sacred Realism)



Matt Mitchell:
Sacrosanctity
(Obliquity)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
[VINYL]
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Mary Halvorson Septet:
Illusionary Sea
[2 LPS]
(Firehouse 12 Records)



Darius Jones:
Legend of e'Boi (
The Hypervigilant Eye)
[VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(Aum Fidelity)



Irene Schweizer/
Rudiger Carl/
Johnny Dyani/
Han Bennink:
Irenes Hot Four
(Intakt)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (19913)