Tenebrae: Second Movement by Osvaldo Golijov

Osvaldo Golijov was born in La Plata, Argentina on December 5, 1960. Growing up in an Eastern European, Jewish household, he found himself surrounded by Jewish liturgical and klezmer music. In addition, he was immersed in classical chamber music and heavily influenced by another composer, Astor Piazzolla. Golijov studied with Gerardo Gandini in La Plata, Mark Kopytman at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy, George Crumb at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his Ph.D. and Oliver Knussen at Tanglewood.

In 2000, he was commissioned by German Helmuth Riling to write a Passion based on St. Mark to commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. Subsequently, Golijov composed numerous works for a large variety of instrumentations, including but not limited to: solo repertoire, chamber pieces, operas and orchestral works. He demonstrates an incredible dexterity for incorporating multiple techniques from various musical eras into one work.

(Kronos Quartet)

He received two Grammys in 2007 for Best Opera Recording and Best Classical Contemporary Composition for his opera “Ainadamar”. The Post and Courier called “Tenebrae” “powerful and immediate”. Wes Blomster of Andante.com called Golijov “one of today’s most gifted and appealing composers”. In addition to having received an abundance of awards from prestigious institutions around the world, he has also established quite a large international audience.

Tenebrae, recorded by the Kronos Quartet, was released in 2003 with Osvaldo Golijov’s album Oceana. The second movement begins in minimalist style, the instrumentation slowly layering with singing but still melodic fragments and other simple textures. As the piece develops, we find ourselves in the realm of Bach and Monteverdi, with beautifully resolved dissonances and baroque harmonies. At the climax of the movement, the stormy texture is reminiscent of Vivaldi. We close with the original, similar tones except this time the musicians play their soaring melodies with more vibrato, interchanging between the instruments.

The historical elements of a contemporary work are not as significant because many of these pieces are derived from numerous periods. Tenebrae, for example, contains multiple styles ranging from Baroque, to early Classical and even utilizing modern day techniques. A historical critique also misses much of the analysis of the actual, technical structure of the piece…but perhaps this is because of the brevity of the assignment. However, it is useful to consider the composer’s background, ouerve, in order to better understand his compositional voice. The facts collected about Golijov from research explain his tendency toward minimalism and folk-like, romantic melodies.