Christopher Webber writes to voice his disagreement with my lukewarm
review of Golijov's Oceana.  One passage caught my eye:

> The Neruda setting, "Oceana", is not a Song Cycle in the customary mode.
> Its contrasted sections alternate and/or combine a small, combo group
> with solo female vocalist against a massive full orchestra and chorus,
> but somehow it still feels intimate.  The words are indeed used as a
> catalyst rather than meant to communicate for themselves, and Golijov's
> sound-world - the chamber group with Latino-jazz vocalist strikingly
> close in essentials to the Spanish instrumental combos used to accompany
> "tonos humanos" songs in 17th century zarzuela - is fascinatingly varied,
> in-your-face, and colourful.  With its haunting synthesised backing track
> of tidal ebbs and flows, this is very much music of today, and whatever
> it's replay value, it certainly grabs the listener first time round.

I often wonder, even with new music, how much our previous experience
colors the present.  Christopher had the advantage of relating Golijov
to zarzuela, a genre largely unknown to me.  Thus, I could relate Oceana
to nothing at all, besides other Golijov.

I'll have to listen again, obviously.

Steve Schwartz

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