Photo: Patrick Ryan

Osvaldo Golijov: Ayre

Osvaldo Golijov is one of the most original musical voices of today. Drawing inspiration from diverse sources, his music combines Eastern and Western classical influences with Mediterranean folklore. Golijov created Ayre ("Air" or "Melody" in medieval Spanish) to demonstrate the extraordinary qualities of Dawn Upshaw's voice (just as Berio – a composer to whom he has a close kinship - did for Cathy Berberian in his Folk Songs), and it is the piece that he feels is "closest to who I am".

Ayre was composed for Dawn and an ensemble of eleven players; combining regular western classical instruments with the hyper-accordion, ronroco and the laptop, which in Golijov's eyes becomes a folk instrument of the 21st century.

"In short, ...emotionally potent and unforgettably beautiful."
Gramophone