Thursday, April 28, 2011

Eric Whitacre

I liked this so much I stole it -- from my son's blog:

From The Art of Choices blog: This second one is not for the faint of heart. It is fifteen minutes of utter harmonic bliss. Full of what have become known as Whitacre chords which are repeating diatonic clusters of Major triads with seconds and occasionally perfect fourths above. It is called When David Heard and the words are from 2 Samuel 18:33. It had not been set to music by any major composer for over four hundred years until Whitacre composed this. It's a very dramatic and powerful piece full of the wailing of a father losing his son. Do not listen to this piece unless you have the fifteen minutes to spare to fully enjoy the beauty and scope of the entire piece. Enjoy 
Not everyone will like this but for those who like complex harmonies sung VERY well, this is as good as it gets. (BYU singers, Lynn).

4 comments:

Lynn said...

should have my real computer later tonight and am looking forward to this, thanks!

navajotwin said...

I've been following this blog for quite a while, happily taking suggestions and enjoying new restaurants and such around Fort Worth. But this post caught me by surprise - I was a member of the BYU Singers for 3 years. Small world, huh? I echo the stolen excerpt by saying that you really should listen to the entire piece in one sitting - just beautiful. Eric Whitacre is an incredible composer.

Thanks for the blog - I really enjoy it.

Francis Shivone said...

Andtheknee -- I am still surprised, 4 years into this blog, that anyone reads it. Comments are always appreciated.

Yea, it's a great piece, pulled from my son's blog. I have listened to it, start to finish, 4 times today.

Were you singing in this recording?

navajotwin said...

I did not, though I was in another BYU choir at the same time. I knew many of the singers and am still good friends with a few. I would recommend the rest of the album this was from: Eric Whitacre: The Complete A Capella Works, 1991-2001.