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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Ayre is an extraordinary mix of musical style, culture and language. Golijov's achievement (aided by his background as a Jewish Argentinian of East European origin who has studied in Jerusalem, Spain and the US) is in showing us how much divided cultures have in common. A Sephardic lullaby, a Palestinian poem, a Christian Arab hymn - this is a real musical and cultural exploration. I suggest a free copy for anyone involved in peace negotiations in the Middle East.
Dawn Upshaw is magnificent.
The only downside is that Breio's Folk Songs seem tame in comparison.
Dawn Upshaw is magnificent.
The only downside is that Breio's Folk Songs seem tame in comparison.
Format:Audio CD
This disc has two parts. The first is the Golijov's excellent sefaradin songs. After you have the great selection of Berio`s folk songs. After all, like all Golijov`s compositions, you have the pleasure of contemporary best music.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
16 reviews
49 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Creative Magic Courtesy Golijov, Berio, Upshaw and Andalucian Dogs!
28 Sep 2005
Format:Audio CD
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
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
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Exotic cultural crossover at its most tuneful
31 Oct 2005
Format:Audio CD
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.
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.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Give it a try!
18 Feb 2006
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
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