This is clearly a composer to watch, and if his phenomenal Stateside success is anything to go by, his emergence into the British music scene should be revelatory. Whitacres published works have sold well over 350,000 copies worldwide. His Water Night (included on this new recording) has become one of the most popular choral works of the last decade, and is one of the top-selling choral publications of all time. The American Record Guide named his first recording one of the top ten classical albums in 1997, and the Los Angeles Times described his music as having electric, chilling harmonies works of unearthly beauty and imagination. $ Īt the age of only 35, Eric Whitacre has already gained a reputation in the United States that many composers strive for a lifetime to achieve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. The reviewer is Tom Schnabel of member station KCRW in Santa Monica, California. But I'm glad he did and I bet that even my old hotrod neighbor Chris would like his music, too.īLOCK: The CD is called Cloudburst by Eric Whitacre. Given his youth - he's only 35 - and his surfer hunk handsomeness, the tall blonde composer probably didn't need to join the choir to meet women. His web site on gets tons of visitors, too. He has a big following in high schools and colleges because of his popular master classes here and abroad. SCHNABEL: Eric Whitacre inspires us to hear choral music in new says, a refreshing take on what's often a musty old genre. The group and its director, Stephen Layton, handle even the most complex and challenging passages flawlessly.
SCHNABEL: A word about the English Choir Polyphony that performs the songs on Cloudburst. The secret kingdom of the water opens flowing from the center of night. This song from Cloudburst is based on the poem Water Night by Mexican writer Octavio Paz.ĬHOIR: If you open your eyes, night opens doors of musk. Listening in my car, I turned up the volume during a quiet passage only to get smacked by an explosive fortissimo that almost blew out my amp and speakers. He shifts chords and startles with unexpected alterations. What I like about Eric Whitacre's music is his keen harmonic sense, his beautiful chords, his love of musical surprises. But instead of meeting attractive choristers, he was smitten instead by Mozart's Requiem. Acting on a tip from a friend who told him that a good way to meet women was to sing in the school choir, Whitacre joined it. SCHNABEL: Whitacre's career as a choral composer started almost by accident. For the leaping greenly spirits of trees. Here's a song based on the playful but inspiring poem by EE Cummings, I Thank You God, For Most This Amazing Day.ĬHOIR: I thank You God for most this amazing day. For me, it's choral music of another order. Eric Whitacre writes captivating music of rare beauty. It reminds them of funerals.īut there's a new choral composer who might change all that. Who died? I guess some people just don't like choral music.
He slammed the door and yelled up at me hey, Tom.
One afternoon, while I was enjoying the luminous 1947 Requiem by French Composer Maurice Durufle, I heard the roar of Chris's Plymouth Barracuda driving into the underground garage. I had a neighbor named Chris who liked working on and driving really loud muscle cars. TOM SCHNABEL: I used to live in a small apartment and just like now, listen to music all the time. Our reviewer Tom Schnabel says the music is optimistically American and should have wide appeal. Another classical makeover comes in the latest CD from the young choral composer Eric Whitacre.
0 kommentar(er)
