Ayre (Golijov)

«Ayre is a collection of 11 pieces of music with roots in Spanish Andalusia – Byzantine chant, Sephardic lullabies, Arab, Hebrew and Christian texts – an ecstatic demonstration of the power of music to express the human condition. It may be one of the defining works of the new century» ( Robert Harris)Ayre is the twelfth album by composer Osvaldo Golijov, it is a cycle of songs commissioned by Carnegie Hall for soprano Dawn Upshaw, which offers a tour of the Mediterranean, particularly in that mixture of Spanish, Jewish and Arabic influences that once coexisted (relatively ) quietly in Spain before the Reconquista. Golijov's Ayre - meaning "air" or "melody" in medieval Spanish - largely centers on southern Spain with its intermingling of three cultures (Christian, Arab, and Jewish) in an era before the expulsion of the Jews in the late 15th century. The band on the CD box is a bit imprecise, in fact it defines the work as a journey around the Jewish Mediterranean; but in reality there are Arabic, Christian, Muslim, etc. songs and poems. It would seem that Golijov wants to show that all these faiths and ethnicities make up a larger family. Structure The CD is composed of two parts, the first Ayre by Osvaldo Golijov and the second Folk Songs for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, viola, cello, harp and percussion by Luciano Berio.