Customer Reviews

Golijov: Ayre / Berio: Folk Songs

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In what must be the most intriguing and creative recording yet this year, AYRE, a work for soprano and instrumentalists by Osvaldo Golijov, is a winner. Dawn Upshaw and a fascinating instrumental group called the Andalucian Dogs perform this amalgam of musical ideas of Christian, Arab, and Sephardic Jewish cultures in Spain with traditional instruments, tribal, Klezmer, jazz, and unclassifiable types of compositions by the ever creative Golijov. The work is peppery, moody, lusty and a total joy to hear.

Translations of some of the titles of the individual songs include 'A mother roasted her child', 'Until you return', 'My eyes weep', 'Be a string, water, to my guitar', 'Ariadne in her labyrinth' and the breathtaking 'Oh where shall I find you' in which Upshaw offers otherworldly primal chanting, speaking, and singing. Golijov writes vividly for the harp, percussion, strings and wind instruments, weaving the voice as not only a communicator of the poetry but as an integral part of the instrumental sound. This is an extraordinary composition and one that Dawn Upshaw (this time with the eighth blackbird ensemble) will tour the country. If you are near a performance, don't miss it. Meanwhile the recording is so superb that it seems bound for Grammy awards.

Rounding out this CD are the Folksongs by Luciano Berio (written for his wife Cathy Berberian who also recorded them) as sung by the incredibly gifted Dawn Upshaw. The songs (ten in number) are from the US, France, Italy, Sardinia, Auvergne - France, Sicily, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. And yes, Upshaw sings each in native tongue! The settings are minimally orchestrated for maximum effect and the performances are gently magnificent. This is a CD that deserves the attention of all types of music lovers. And it serves even more notice of the genius that is Osvaldo Golijov. Highly Recommended! Grady Harp, September 05

Oswaldo Golijov wrote his 2004 song cycle, Ayre, as a mirror of the Berio song cycle, Folk Songs, from 1964. Both are easy listening in a somewhat updated modernist vein. Dawn Upshaw sings in at least seven languages, inclduing the lost language of Sephardic Jews from southern Spain. Golijov asks her to imitate the melismatic style of Arab vocalism, but with many twists and turns into other styles, Christian and Jewish. His cycle is the more adventurous in form, gliding seamlessly from spoken word to song, sometimes wordless vocalise, sometimes set to modern or ancient poetry. The texts are very obscure, and a listener can easily ignore the words and enjoy Ayre as a tour de force of pure singing centered on gorgeous, exotically perfumed melody.

The infectious Berio cycle is more conventional, in that one song follows another with a clear separation and mostly easy tunes. Some of the songs are as familiar as "Black is the color of my true love's hair" and "I wonder as I wander," and for these Berio has devised clever, engaging chamber accompaniments, atlthough these often wander independently of the tune. Things get wilder with items like the yowled Sicilian ballad, "Femminisca," with its clanging percussive accompaniment. Upshaw is asked to adapt her voice to conflicting vocal styles here, too.

I won't go so far as to call it dated, but the Berio is less coherent and stylistically unified than the Golijov cycle. Its diverse singing styles are a savory mish-mash, while Ayre, which is firmly centered in Spanish medieval folk singing, feels more satisfying as it rises and falls in mood.

Overall, this CD is tuneful and simple enough that it could catch on as pop or world music. Golijo clearly has found a niche for himself, and his talent at vocal settings and exotic atmosphere is driving his fast-rising career qquite successfully.

Someone said that people who say "I know what I like" actually mean "I like what I know". This disc is a tremendous ear opener and brings to our attention the golden era of Al Andalus in 14th century Spain when great philosophers and musicians of three cultures, christian, jewish and muslim lived and worked in relative harmony. Let's face it, the price of the disc is negligible for a cultural experience of this kind. I'm delighted to have it.

Witness the awesome power of marketing! Golijov is hailed as all but the 21st century Mozart; even the venerable Gramophone Magazine has joined the chorus of praise: "intoxicating", "endlessly haunting", unforgettably beautiful". So before you've thought twice you'll have bought this disc, and what do you end up with? I'll put it briefly: a facile hotchpotch of improvisatory, crowd-pleasing cross-over, with the staying power of any glittering soap bubble. Ayre is entertaining enough, no doubt about that. It is expertly played and seductively sung, quirky enough to give the superficial impression of modernity, but without ever truly challenging the listener on any level, or offering anything essentially new. The problem is that Golijov presents us with a series of elaborations on Klezmer, Arabic and Mediterranean folk music for which far more enticing alternatives are available from artists closer to the original sources. Try Rabih Abou-Khalil for truly unforgettable adaptations of Arabic music, for instance. And though Golijov's multinational cocktail does not include Scandinavia, those who like Ayre are bound to be blown away by the songs of Sami artist Mari Boine, that in my view operate on rather deeper levels of profundity. And for exotic vocal effects, check out Toby Twining.

Ayre is no match either for the cycle of Berio Folksongs that inspired it - the Berio work is far more coherent and simply has more substance as a work of art. Upshaw's version of it is undeniably committed, but does not erase memories of the phenomenal reading by Jard van Nes and musicians from the Concertgebouw Orkest (Decca). While Upshaw tends to sentimentalize the slow songs, and adapts a deliberately rough-edged, folksy voice for the others, Van Nes staunchly approaches the cycle from the classical tradition, which results in a reading of hieratic power and intense beauty. Next to her ecstatic 'Azerbedijan LOvesong' Upshaw sounds positively soporific. Which in my view leaves little reason to invest in this disc.

I have to give it to Dawn Upshaw, she really has courage to do something interesting with her voice. She sings such incredible passages here, vocalising strange notes, not just singing, it's like performance art with her voice. Actually she has a lovely speaking voice too, like when she reads the "O God, where shall I find you?" poem in the third track, before launching into Ophra Haza wail...
But this music is so strange. There were some moments I really loved it, but in many places it was too much and just too bizarre. And the two parts on not on the same level, the Ayre cycle is much better and more interesting overall, Berio cycle sounds little dull, probably by comparison too. The one song that may be familiar to some people, "Black is the Color" is the only one I have heard before, and I like Upshawn's version a lot.
I think if someone is prepared for the radical, original style of this album, they might end up really loving this music. For anybody who likes very conventional music, or expects this soprano to sing standard repertoire, it could be unnerving experience. But his album is really worth hearing just for Upshawn's incredible singing. She is a great artist, she likes to take risks and she does not disappoint here.

I think I admired the music of Osvaldo Golijov more before he came to New Yawk, hired a first-class press agent, and became a celebrity. At that time he was yet in his Latino period and noted for his La Pasión Según San Marcos, and my reaction to that piece is similar to my reaction to "Ayre" (pronounced "IRE"). Some of it sounds great and is very moving, but how much of it is due to the creativity of Golijov?

It seems to me that this guy merely assembles the finest musicians in town (including the marvelous Dawn Upshaw here) and has them do their thing. In the "Pasión," it sounds like a premium Argentinean band jamming with great local singers, and now that Golijov has entered a klezmer or eastern phase, much of this album sounds like a klezmer band jamming. I'm left wondering if Osvaldo Golijov had instead been put on a boat and sent somewhere, and the same musicians (including the marvelous Dawn Upshaw) had been assembled in the same studio (The Hit Factory on West 54th St.) and told to create an album around a few traditional klezmer numbers and folk songs, that they would likely have created a better album without Golijov.

Once again, there is nothing here that suggests anything special that Golijov brings into the room. He makes no attempt at long forms, which makes things easier for him (a Sousa march is an easier thing to compose than a Mahler symphony), and the klezmer numbers are certainly no more advanced than what David Krakauer does. In the rockin' track 3 (movement 3) Dawn Upshaw sounds remarkably like Poly Styrene and the old punk band X-Ray Spex. There are some interesting electronic effects throughout, but credit for those should no doubt go to The Hit Factory and the recording producer. In fact, both the music and lyrics of movements 4 and 9 were written not by Golijov, but by producer Gustavo Santaolalla. Keep him and get rid of Golijov!

Movement 8 is a recitation of a poem by Mahmoud Darwish with no music. Now, that's a concept I want to try my hand at. I know of much better poetry, so I'm going to compose a symphony with no music but with someone reciting Shelly's "Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples."

For a while, it seemed like every periodical issuing from the East Coast of the US had a feature on Maestro Golijov. That's a racket I want to get into! I'm gonna hire Golijov's press agent, and soon I'll be a great composer without having to compose any original music!

On reflection, though, it may be that I still harbor the old concept of a composer -- some lonely guy in a room, pounding away at a keyboard, struggling to devise something original. Think of poor Beethoven laboring for years over just the first movement of his Fifth Symphony. The new Golijov paradigm of composition is to book a studio, hire the top musicians, tell them what sort of music you want, and let them have at it. In this sense, I don't think of Golijov as being much like Beethoven, but more like Ricky Ricardo.

For the past few years I have traveled across the country several times in order to hear Dawn Upshaw perform. I own some of her recordings dating back a few years and they remain among my favorites. However on this recording Ms Upshaw goes far beyond my expectations. I saw her perform `The Rake's Progress' at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and I saw her perform this summer at Santa Fe Opera in the first theatrical staging of `Aindamar' by Osvaldo Golijov and librettist David Henry Hwang. I saw her a couple of years ago in `L'Amour de Loin' by Kaija Saariaho, also in Santa Fe. While these performances were outstanding, in fact `L'Amour de Loin' was spectacular; they pale next to this recording.

This CD consists of two sets of songs, the first are songs from Andalusia, with emphasis on the Arab and Jewish traditions. The second are `folk songs' of various traditions, from the USA to Europe and central Asia. There are also narrations, background sounds, and Ms Upshaw's spoken voice.

I'm not sure what I expected, but I have been listening to this CD almost daily since I got it. It is haunting and uplifting and just plain fun to listen to. While I am obviously a fan of Ms Upshaw, I think this recording lifts her to a whole new level among American singers. It would be impossible to classify her at this point. Some of the songs on this CD made me pause; I wanted to make some of my young friends who are fascinated with `hip hop' and `rap' and make them listen to this and then say, "See? This is what music is supposed to sound like!"

By the way, `L'Amour de Loin' is available of DVD but I have not seen it. If it compares to the Peter Sellers production in Santa Fe, I'd say buy it! I can only hope a CD comes out soon.

I was present for a performance of Ayre in New York a couple of years ago. It's a song cycle drawing on several different cultural and historical traditions -- Christian, Muslim, Jewish and of course the composer's native South America. The performance was quite exhilirating. The music is mostly tuneful and the orchstration very interesting.
Still, I can't help wondering if this is the kind of music that will last. Will people still be listening to Ayre 100 years from now? I'm not sure. I hear geat talent and skill -- but do I hear genius? Again, I'm not convinced. Sometimes, I have the feeling of being manipulated. This music is very politically correct, especially the long lament for the Palestinians at the center of this work.
One thing is for sure: Dawn Upshaw is sensational. She molds her voice into a supremely flexible instrument, making it do all kinds of wonderful things.
I do recommend this recording. It's interesting and it asks good questions. But it's not quite great.

The brilliance of Dawn Upshaw animates this very exciting disc in unexpected ways. I don't believe I have ever heard a trained Western singer address East Mediterranean scales and rhythyms, yet one who attacks the music with such wonderful self assurance. Osvaldo Golijov has given her an extraordinary score, and the Andalusian Dogs -- with their strange instrumentation == offer support equal to the tasks Golijov sets for them. Bravo!

So, I ended up buying this album not for the main piece, Golijov's Ayre but for Upshaw's version of Berio's Folksongs. In fact, in the length of time I've had this disc, which has been a couple of months, at least, I never even once attempted listening to Golijov's piece. The truth of the matter was, I kept telling myself I didn't like Goljov - which was silly and contradictory of me since I've always enjoyed Golijov's The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind. In fact, because I knew I enjoyed Isaac The Blind, I investigated whether or not I'd enjoy Golijov's newly released opera, Ainadamar. After listening to some 30 second samples from Amazon.com, I must admit that I wasn't impressed with what I heard. I also investigated his La Pasion Segun San Marcos only to arrive at the opinion that it, too, was lacking in very many ways. I immediately figured that aside from Isaac the Blind, Golijov's other material seemed bland, unempathetic and largely undeveloped - almost as if he were in a hurry to be prolific!

Well, needless to say, my opinion of him immediately changed when I finally decided to listen to Ayre. From the very first note, I realized it was Golijov from my familiarity with Isaac the Blind and I was instantaneously drawn in. The rhythm was exotic, casual, and yet refined, and the harmony transported me away from 21st century America into a wholly other multi-cultural dimension. The introduction holds you in suspense, awaiting what's next, and then gradually shifts into mode encompassed by Jewish and Arabesque tones and colors. Upshaw's singing is so evocative and pronounced that, just like in her performance of Gorecki's "Symphony No. 3," she doesn't spare any emotion in her performance. Her voice alone adds so much texture to these songs!

The song cycle ranges from the beautiful to the absurd, at times, with Upshaw's singing leading the way. And while the music itself often appears to move from place to place, never seeming to touch the same place twice, there is actually so much cohsiveness between each song that it's impossible not to realize these songs rely upon each other for their strength and viability just like any other architectural composition.

Some people harangue Golijov for being a popular living composer, often berating him with fallible characterizations. Some even claim he isn't original and is only recycling what's come before in order to put himself among the ranks of Mozart, Mahler, and Shostakovich. As one reviewer belows states, Golijov is considered the Brittany Spears of classical. Far from it, as I see it! Golijov's music is no less original than many other composers, including Mozart himself. In fact, it's truly quite difficult to find any composer, living or dead, who was not inspired or did not find their cue from music that preceded them. Golijov may take certain themes borrowed from previous composers (such as composing a song cycle based on Berio's Folksongs) and incorporate those themes into the larger scheme, but such inspiration is no different than the countless composed renditions of "Variations on a Theme by Paganini."

Don't let overly traditionalist music-lovers stray you away from this release! It's truly what your heart, soul, and ears have been searching for!