Like the translation of “Lux aurumque,” his music brings light and gold through its tight harmonies that shine and glow in his choir of soft yet steady voices. Using cluster chords in both “Lux aurumque” and “Sleep,” Whitacre is able to produce pleasant, shimmering effects that both calm your soul and keep your focus without putting you to sleep (no pun intended). His virtual model of performing online became popular during the pandemic when musicians and ensembles were not able to perform in person. What is remarkable is that these two pieces were both selected for Whitacre’s “virtual choir” project in 2010, which gathered hundreds of videos submitted by volunteer singers to produce a video representation of a combined performance. Some notable pieces include “Sleep” and “Lux aurumque,” which are both inspired by the lyrics from the poet Charles Anthony Silvestri. Our CD Cloudburst and Other Choral Works by Eric Whitacre includes projects like his virtual choir recordings and classics from his albums. Some critics even characterize his music as neo-impressionistic.
His contemporary approach leans toward a sense of release and a feeling of freedom in his use of indeterminate sections and attention-grabbing dissonant chords. His distinctive style consists of cacophonous yet airy chords that peacefully clash and float in waves of moving harmonies. In fact, he is one of the most popular musicians today, bringing a unique modern framework to choral music composition. To those who are unfamiliar with choral music, he is the Timothée Chalamet in our world. Since both Whitacre and I are natives of Reno, Nevada, I am honored to witness Whitacre’s achievements and review the beauty of his work which has and will continue to pave the way for future contemporary choral work. Įric Whitacre is an American composer most famously known for his choral music. This week, student assistant Emily Brignand reviews Cloudburst and Other Choral Works by Eric Whitacre. “This is a contemporary choral classic and deserves its reputation.Welcome to Feature Fridays! Each week, Music Library staff highlight an item from our collection. (Adapted by Eric Whitacre, Translation by Lysander Kemp) We must sing till the song puts forth roots, We must dream the dreams of a river seeking its course, Recordar lo que dicen la sangre y la marea,īut tell me, burnt earth, is there no water?
Soñemos sueños activos de río buscando su cauce, Sólo pisadas de pies desnudos sobre la espina? This is a contemporary choral classic and deserves its reputation. I did, and the piece (now a lean eight and a half minutes) was finally published in 1995. Jo-Michael Scheibe sagely convinced me to “tighten it up”. The piece was originally about ten minutes long, but Dr. The finger snapping thing (all of the singers snap their fingers to simulate rain) is an old campfire game that I modified for the work, and the thunder sheets were giant pieces of tin we took from the side of the school. I had recently been given an exquisite book of poems by Octavio Paz, and around the same time I witnessed an actual (breathtaking) desert cloudburst, and I guess it just all lined up. She is an amazing conductor, legendary for doing crazy things on stage (choralography, lighting, costumes, you name it), and I wanted to write something for her that would really knock the audience out. Jensen approached me about writing a piece for her High School Choir. After a performance of Go, Lovely Rose in 1991, Dr.
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