Søren Nils EICHBERG (b.1973)
Symphony no.2, Before Heaven, Before Earth, for large orchestra
(2010) [23:29]
Symphony no.1, Stürzten wir uns ins Feuer, for large
orchestra (2005) [34:11]
Danish National Symphony Orchestra/Christoph Poppen
rec. Danish Radio Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, 10-12 February 2011
(no.2) and 9-11 February 2012 (no.1). DDD.
DACAPO 8.226109 [57:40]
In the accompanying booklet Danish-German composer Søren Nils
Eichberg
says that his generation "just want[s] to make good music that doesn't make
listeners
hold their hands to their ears." A noble sentiment, and his first two
symphonies
certainly qualify as good music, but likely listener reaction is harder to
gauge.
Though Eichberg steers well clear of hardcore modernism, these works will
likely
strike anyone whose tastes extend no further than Nielsen or Brahms as noisy
in
the extreme. The First Symphony in particular is often a maelstrom of
pounding
rhythms and fortissimo tutti. Even the notes describe it as "a violent work,
one
where brutal boisterous expressions have taken over."
However, though Eichberg may be overly optimistic when it comes to
audience reach, he certainly knows how to write exciting orchestral music.
The single-movement First Symphony could be used as a soundtrack to any
extended cinematic battle scene, such is its thrusting immediacy and
churning power. Its title is a quotation from a contemporary Portuguese
author's doomsday vision, and the whole work is Eichberg's appeal to
humanity not to throw itself again, as it so often has, into the fires of
hell.
The aural 'battering' actually begins with the very first bar of the
opening Second Symphony. Subtitled Before Heaven, Before Earth after
a passage from Laozi's 'Tao Te Ching', the music seems more primeval than
transcendental in character, though the slow central section is mystical and
contemplative. On the whole though, the Second is an easier introduction to
Eichberg's masterfully scored, thrilling symphonies, even sounding, in the
final mind-blowing crescendo, not unlike a Bruckner/Wagner hybrid. Another
recently recorded work of Eichberg's, Endorphin (for string quartet
and strings, PhilHarmonie PHIL06022, 2012), has a similar driven urgency.
Under experienced German conductor Christoph Poppen the Danish
National Symphony Orchestra give a terrifically disciplined yet adrenalised
account of these highly demanding scores. In the past Dacapo's orchestral
recordings have sometimes disappointed with regard to audio quality, but
Eichberg benefits here from engineering at its best. A compelling disc, all
told, for every bold-leaning lover of big-sounding symphonies.
Byzantion
Contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
A compelling disc for every bold-leaning lover of big-sounding symphonies.
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