Eric Whitacre

He was full of tenderness;
She was very hard.
And as much as she tried to stay thus,
Simply, and with no good reason,
He took her into himself,
And set her down
In the softest, softest place.

-Translation from the Five Hebrew Love Songs, poetry by Hila Plitmann

Eric Whitacre is the rock star of choir music. That’s what I read and hear anyway. Certainly his long flowing locks, impressive collaborations, and social media savvy make him more visible than most choral music composers. And his concept of “virtual choirs” has put him front and center in the TED Talk realm, garnering acclaim for bringing choral music to the people, wherever they may be.

For me, I simply love his music. Don’t get me wrong, I think his work is novel and has significant societal impact. I have had the pleasure of singing a few of his pieces in my own chorus and have connected to them in very emotional ways, so this is what I choose to focus on in this blog post. The lyrics of his songs are often adapted from poetry (like from his wife used in the Five Hebrew Love Songs – see above translation – or from ee cummings in the City and the Sea) and have an ethereal quality that make you just stop what you are doing and listen. You can hear this quality in the song, Lux Aurumque, which happens to be the first Whitacre piece I sang. This also happens to be one of the first virtual choir productions.

As a choral singer, his music is amazing to sing. First, he is not afraid of dissonant chords, of which I am a fan (see “Hymn of Acxiom” in my Vienna Teng post). Second, there are times in his songs when the music compels you along and you can only jump in full steam. It happens in Kala Kalla, one of the Five Hebrew Songs, right about the 4:33 mark in the video below. Never before has singing “la la la la la la la la” been so invigorating. (If you back it up to 3:33 the look on the kids’ faces perfectly sum up the feeling of singing this piece). Third, he is not afraid to use unusual and innovative techniques in his music, such as finger snapping in Cloudburst to simulate the sound of rain. 

Rock star or not, Eric Whitacre has certainly left his mark on music. His innovation and modern interpretation of classical sounds makes his music accessible to more people in more places, which is really wonderful. At the heart of it, he loves music and loves experimenting with music. It’s that excitement and curiosity that drive the songs and make them a pleasure to sing.