Dawn Upshaw

International folk music lies at the intersection of these two song cycles. On the first half, Golijov's Ayre (1-11) mixes Mediterranean, Arabic and Klezmer vocal traditions and instruments, with characteristically dense, cinematic flourishes and playful flirtations with popular music singing style from soprano Dawn Upshaw. The second half, Berio's earlier (1964) cycle of folk songs, is less globalized and the arrangements are sparser, like minimalist reductions. Upshaw owns the melodic spotlight on the Berio with surprising tenderness.