George Benjamin’s 2006 chamber opera Into the Little Hill was commissioned by the Paris National Opera, the Ensemble Modern and a few other high-level companies. The libretto, by British playwright Martin Crimp, is an updated version of the tale of the Pied Piper, i.e. the Ratcatcher of Hamelin, with added contemporary political and social overtones: the power of music and its exploitation in today’s world. The story is told by just two singers, a soprano (embodying The Crowd, The Stranger, a Narrator, The Minister's Child) and a contralto (The Crowd, a Narrator, The Minister, The Minister's Wife), who share all the characters and narration, thus acknowledging the inherently artificial nature of sung drama even though, occasionally, particularly in heated moments, it does approach the naturalistic. The score is typical of Benjamin: spare, somewhat austere, meticulously calibrated between instruments and voices, all the more since the orchestration, limited to a 15-person ensemble, employs some highly unusual timbres, ranging from bass flute, mandolin and cimbalom to banjo, contrabass clarinet and basset-horns. The recording is conducted by the composer in person. The same remark applies to the other major work on the album, the song cycle Dream of the Song, featuring countertenor Bejun Mehta and the Concertgebouw orchestra. This is assuredly one of the most intense and emotional song cycle composed these last few years. © SM/Qobuz