Golijov - Falling Out of Time review | Andrew Clements's classical album of the week

The Guardian 0

Silkroad Ensemble
(In a Circle Records)
Inspired by a novel of a father seeking connection with a dead child, Golijov’s work has a multitude of stylistic elements and instruments but not enough emotional heft

In the early years of this century, the Argentinian Osvaldo Golijov was one of the most sought-after composers around. In works such as the choral St Mark Passion and his opera Ainadamar his eclectic style, with ingredients including pop, klezmer, new tango and Sephardic chant, and paying little attention to stylistic boundaries, was accessibly packaged and attracted a wide audience. But it’s a long time now since Golijov completed a major work, and over the last 10 years in particular, his career has been characterised by a series of unfulfilled deadlines and abandoned commissions. The problem has less been a case of creative block, it seems, for he continued to compose, than a dissatisfaction with what he produced.