Track Listing

1. Call
2. First Wave: 'Oceana Nupical, Cadera De Las Islas' - Rain Train Interlude
3. Second Wave: 'Quiero Oir Lo Invisible'
4. Second Call
5. Third Wave: 'Oceana, Reclina Tu Noche En El Castillo'
6. Aria: 'Tengo Hambre De No Ser Sino Piedra Marina'
7. Chorale Of the Reef: 'Oceana, Dame Las Conchas Del Arrecife'
8. I
9. II
10. Night Of the Flying Horses: Close Your Eyes - Doina - Gallop
11. Lua Descolorida
12. How Slow the Wind

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3399 in Music
• Released on: 2007-07-10
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
This stunning new CD of music by Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov is a beauty. The title work, Oceana, is scored for instruments (with prominent guitars and percussion), chorus, and solo vocalist (here, the remarkable samba and jazz stylist Luciana Souza). It sets a poem by Pablo Neruda that praises the transcendent power and beauty of the ocean. Filled with dancing rhythms, the work ebbs and flows, ever-moving and fascinating at every turn. The Kronos Quartet then plays Tenebrae, a two-movement lamentation with long, almost Verdian melodies. Three Songs, sung by Dawn Upshaw, ends the CD. One is a tale about the sad fate of Jews and Gypsies during World War II. The second, "Colorless Moon," is a stunning dirge, and the last, a poem by Emily Dickinson, is also a lament about the inevitability of death. Please don't assume from these descriptions that this disc is depressing. This is stunning, original music that uplifts, and it is performed superbly by all involved. A must. --Robert Levine

The Boston Globe
"Osvaldo Golijov has made his name by shaking up the classical-music landscape and disturbing its boundaries... He has become the composer of the moment."

The New York Times
"He is one of the few composers today whose works are profoundly shifting the geography of the classical music world...he has emerged as a major energizing force in a classical world in need of a new vision."

Customer Reviews

Anyone notice the cover image?
If you're curious, the cover image for this DG release is recycled from Bill Evans and Jim Hall's 1962 'Undercurrent' album.

The songs are the key.
I was very curious about this cd and almost picked it up in a store. I decided to check it out online (where I purchased it after streaming a bit) instead. The main offering ('Oceana') was immediately forgettable. It had some interesting sounds but nothing that sticks with you. I still sometimes will play it as something to have on, as some of the rhythms are fun. The main piece is followed up with Kronos Quartet playing a two movement quartet entitled 'Tenebrae'. Initially I was really drawn to this piece. I still like it very much. Its slow and sombre. Not for every mood, but skillfully played and recorded. The three songs, as sung by Dawn Upshaw, are what really shine here. Especially the third one.

In closing I would recomend this cd, so long as you understand it is a mixed offering.

Gorgeous Embracing Experience
This is a gorgeous experience, musically, poetically. There is the presence of a great artist -- working with exceptional vocal and instrumental artists and deriving word/image focus from passionate tender rough vibrant poetry and song - that embraced me in a transcendent yet life affirming experience. The roots and yearnings of a people in their culture, their land, their oceans, their traditions, their generations, made personal - speak through. The fine abstract elements create a new universe in which to experience what is essential, unalloyed, rich. I am with this body of work as if it were a great living love in my life. In truth, it is.
Osvaldo Golijov: Oceana