The premiere of renowned Argentinean-born composer and Loyola Professor of Music Osvaldo Golijov's new song cycle "Falling Out of Time" is getting national media attention, from the Los Angeles Times naming it "one of the 13 best classical concerts to see this fall" to being featured on NPR's "Here & Now" program.
Robin Young of NPR visited Golijov during an early rehearsal of the new work a week before attending the premiere at Holy Cross. Her conversation with Golijov explored music, grief and the process of creating the song cycle, one that started back in 2017 with workshops at the College's Thomas P. Joyce '59 Contemplative Center.
This is a much-anticipated release from Golijov, who has been a member of the faculty at Holy Cross since 1991. The song cycle was written for the Silkroad Ensemble, the Grammy-winning group founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and based on David Grossman's book by the same name about a man dealing with such profound grief after the death of his son that he sets out on a journey to find him, or to find answers. Silkroad, is now in their third year as artists-in-residence through Holy Cross' Arts Transcending Borders initiative.
Asked by Young on how he managed to translate the raw emotion depicted in Grossman's book into music, Golijov said "Where language fails music steps in." "That's what I always try to tell my students [at Holy Cross]. They teach you a lot about rhythms, but the music that I came into this world to do comes from something that precedes music."
Young also moderated an immersive conversation about "Falling Out of Time" with Golijov and artists from Silkroad at WBUR's CitySpace a day after the Holy Cross premiere, the event featuring excerpts from the work.
"Here and Now" is a public radio magazine program produced by NPR and WBUR in Boston and distributed across the country to over 450 NPR stations. To listen to the segment in its entirety please go to WBUR.org.
Additional Coverage:
- WickedLocal.com, Sept. 16
- Worcester Magazine, Sept. 19
- Los Angeles Times, Oct. 22
