George Benjamin's 2006 chamber opera Into the Little Hill, with a libretto by Martin Crimp, is an updated version of the story of the Pied Piper, but it's considerably darker both in its details and its overall tone. The score is typical of Benjamin -- spare, austere, and meticulously calibrated -- but emotionally potent. Two singers, a soprano and contralto, share all the parts. Benjamin's vocal writing is spiky and pushes at the extremes of the singers' ranges, but his text setting is so expert and his instrumentation so ...
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George Benjamin's 2006 chamber opera Into the Little Hill, with a libretto by Martin Crimp, is an updated version of the story of the Pied Piper, but it's considerably darker both in its details and its overall tone. The score is typical of Benjamin -- spare, austere, and meticulously calibrated -- but emotionally potent. Two singers, a soprano and contralto, share all the parts. Benjamin's vocal writing is spiky and pushes at the extremes of the singers' ranges, but his text setting is so expert and his instrumentation so transparent that almost all of the words are comprehensible. It helps immensely that his singers, Anu Komsi and Hilary Summers, have voices with spot-on intonation, and the ability to project the text with remarkable clarity. It's a very creepy piece, even without the visual element, and the evocative playing of Ensemble Modern, conducted by Franck Ollu, beautifully conveys its uneasy, menacing tone. Oliver Knussen leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a virtuosic performance of Dance...
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Add this copy of George Benjamin: Into the Little Hill to cart. $27.70, new condition, Sold by Importcds rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sunrise, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Nimbus.
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George Benjamin. New. New in new packaging. USA Orders only! Brand New product! please allow delivery times of 3-7 business days within the USA. US orders only please.
Add this copy of Benjamin: Into the Little Hill, Dance Figures, Sometime to cart. $30.55, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Nimbus Records.
Add this copy of George Benjamin: Into the Little Hill to cart. $47.06, new condition, Sold by Entertainment by Post - UK rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BRISTOL, SOUTH GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2009 by Nimbus.
