She Was Here
About the Work
Osvaldo Golijov, whose parents were Eastern European Jewish immigrants, already
had a wide range of musical impulses competing for his attention as he came
of age in Argentina, where he was born in 1960. He grew up taking in an
intoxicating mix that ranged from Old World classical traditions to Yiddish klezmer and
Astor Piazzolla's tango innovations. After a pivotal period of study in Jerusalem, Golijov
settled in the U.S. in 1986, where he has continued to approach genres and sonorities
that are often kept in separate compartments as fair game for his all-embracing stylistic
perspective—colors to be blended into a vibrant new synthesis.
It follows, then, that Golijov recombines vocabularies from folk, dance, and various
ethnic popular idioms into his enticing and recognizable style. Close collaborations with
performers are an integral part of his creativity as well. Dawn Upshaw has become an
especially important muse. Golijov composed the lead role of his first opera for her in
2003 (Ainadamar, or "Fountain of Tears"—a dreamlike meditation on the poet-playwright
Federico García Lorca and his favored actress), following this with the
extraordinary song cycle Ayre and the recent She Was Here, for which he orchestrated
four Schubert lieder to create a haunting new song cycle, which is named after the third
song in the sequence.
Schubert's original musical treatments themselves offer far more than decorative
accompaniments and beautiful melodies for the poems he chose to set: They add a rich
new dimension that brings the subtler implications of the texts into greater relief.
Similarly, Golijov's approach isn't merely to retrofit Schubert's piano accompaniments
with an orchestral garb. Rather, through his imaginative use of harmonic and timbral
color, Golijov creates a unique sound world to complement and comment on the originals
(he retains Schubert's vocal lines). Indeed, his orchestral perspective offers considerably
more nuance than the histrionic intensification found in some of Liszt's more-popular
transcriptions of Schubert songs for piano.
Golijov selects four songs from different periods of Schubert's career in the 1820s.
At the same time, he suggests a hidden connection in their shared themes of longing
and absence, which are symbolized by images of nature. The composer points out that
he himself wrote these orchestrations "at a time of loss and sadness." Golijov also draws
a fascinating series of comparisons with later composers he believes Schubert seems to
foreshadow. These include "the lyrical minimalism of Philip Glass (as in the slow movement
of the Piano Sonata in B-flat major, the opening of the Fantasy in C for violin
and piano, and the beloved song 'Nacht und Träume'); the fragility and intimacy of
Hugo Wolf, and, beyond him, the ambiguous scent of the Vienna of Alban Berg, 100
years after Schubert's own disappearance (in 'Dass Sie Hier Gewesen'); the irony of
Stravinsky and Kurt Weill (in 'Lied der Mignon'); and, perhaps most daringly, the
sound of longing for a sweet, peaceful death ('Wandrers Nachtlied')."
Golijov sustains a convincingly unified atmosphere in the face of such variety, and the
songs unfold as an interlinked suite. Even more, he imprints a highly personal musical
signature, which is immediately apparent in the brief instrumental prelude opening the
cycle and in the music that weaves the songs together. The prelude's crepuscular, slowly
shifting textures carry hints of post-romantic brooding, but as if heard from a great distance,
remembered in fragments.
This prelude leads directly into the first song, "Wandrers Nachtlied" ("The Wayfarer's
Night Song"), which is set remarkably low in the soprano's range. Golijov's translucent,
delicate orchestral details, woven around the lullaby rhythms of the vocal melody,
evoke the song's symbolic setting on the threshold between day's end and nightfall.
Along with shades of Strauss' Four Last Songs, prominent horns highlight the sylvan
backdrop, but dusky woodwinds direct us toward the poem's introspective epiphany,
with its glimpse into mortality and the melancholy promise of final peace.
Goethe's Mignon, in the version Golijov crafts, seems poised between different states
as well—between longing and fantasy—as she sings her famous "Nur Wer die Sehnsucht
Kennt" ("Only he who knows what longing is," taken from the last of Schubert's multiple
settings of this poem from WilhelmMeister's Apprenticeship). Golijov emphasizes Mignon's
sense of hopeless passion with sighing accents in the orchestra and weaves a shivery
accompaniment of celesta, harp, and woodwinds which is then transformed into a newly
composed interlude. This sets the tone for the third song, "Dass Sie Hier Gewesen"
("That She Was Here"), with its news brought by the gentle blowing of the east wind.
Golijov's orchestrations sensitively foreground the enigmatic four-note motif of Schubert's
song. Glass tuned with water and a shimmering triangle provide a transition into the
ethereal atmosphere of the final song, "Nacht und Träume" ("Night and Dreams").
Golijov's muted, flute-like string scoring reflects the singer's longing for night and its
comforting dreams. The magic of Schubert, writes Golijov, is that in the face of human
loss, his music "brings consolation, especially in the last two songs, when he shows that
past, present, and future, in time, are only illusion. At least while the music lasts."
WANDRERS NACHTLIED DAß SIE HIER GEWESEN
|
WAYFARER'S NIGHT SONG |
