Golijov: Oceana, Etc / Spano, Atlanta SO & Chorus - Deutsche Grammophon: B000906902

Notes and Editorial Reviews

Osvaldo Golijov is fast becoming the poster-boy for contemporary composers in the US. And that’s as it should be. For his music, at once thoughtful and instinctive, esoteric and accessible, is unfailingly haunting and stimulating. And if, as a New York critic recently suggested to me, his fans are now waiting for him to step up to the John Adams league with a Very Important Work, we have plenty to be going on with. This latest collection, of his early work Oceana, Tenebrae for string quartet and a collection of songs, is unforgettable. The title-work, composed as a homage to Bach cantatas, is meticulous in its structure – yet the cumulative effect is of the most gorgeous, Read more sometimes pain-filled vocal waves washing over you. Tenebrae offers contrasting views of the world; from the literally global perspective of space, and from immediate proximity to violence. The fascinating thing is how at times the perspectives merge. And this would not be a Golijov album without the presence of his muse, Dawn Upshaw. It is she who has the last word in the soulful, plangent songs. If this is not yet Golijov’s Very Important Work, it’s still an album to swoon over.

-- Gramophone [9/2007]
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Works on This Recording

Oceana by Osvaldo Golijov
Performer: Elisabeth Remy (Harp), John Dearman (Guitar), Luciana Souza (Voice),
Scott Tennant (Guitar), Jamey Haddad (Percussion), Jay Anderson (Double Bass)
Conductor: Robert Spano
Orchestra/Ensemble: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Gwinnettt Young Singers
Period: 20th Century
Date of Recording: 11/2004
Venue: Symphony Hall, Atlanta, Georgia
Length: 3 Minutes 30 Secs.
Language: Spanish
Notes: Composition written: 1996.
Composition revised: 2004.

Tenebrae by Osvaldo Golijov
Performer: Jeffrey Zeigler (Cello), David Harrington (Violin), Hank Dutt (Viola),
John Sherba (Violin)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Kronos Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Date of Recording: 11/2006
Venue: College of the Holly Cross, Worcester
Length: 6 Minutes 10 Secs.
Language: Spanish
Notes: Composition written: 2002.
Composition revised: 2003.

Night of the Flying Horses by Osvaldo Golijov
Performer: Luciana Souza (Voice)
Conductor: Robert Spano
Orchestra/Ensemble: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 2002
Date of Recording: 11/2005
Venue: Symphony Hall, Atlanta, Georgia
Length: 7 Minutes 24 Secs.
Language: Yiddish

Lua descolorida by Osvaldo Golijov
Performer: Luciana Souza (Voice)
Conductor: Robert Spano
Orchestra/Ensemble: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1999; USA
Date of Recording: 11/2005
Venue: Symphony Hall, Atlanta, Georgia
Length: 6 Minutes 4 Secs.
Language: Yiddish

How slow the wind by Osvaldo Golijov
Performer: Luciana Souza (Voice)
Conductor: Robert Spano
Orchestra/Ensemble: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Date of Recording: 11/2005
Venue: Symphony Hall, Atlanta, Georgia
Length: 8 Minutes 2 Secs.
Notes: Composition written: BY 2001.
Composition revised: 2002.

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:

( 1 Customer Review )

Times? November 11, 2014 By W. Felsen (Mount Shasta, CA) See All My Reviews "Something wrong with the listed timings. Under the disc's title the time is shown as 1 hour +, but the timings shown for the individual pieces add up to 31 minutes and a fraction" Report Abuse

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