I had the pleasure of attending the first performance of the Eric Whitacre Singers’ US tour. This group, from London, under the direction of the composer, is performing four concerts here in the northeast. The event was at the Strathmore Performing Arts Center in Bethesda, Maryland. They sang to a very enthusiastic audience made up of many young people as well as their regular concert audience. It was good to see so many students cheer on the Maestro and composer as if he were a “rock star”. He didn’t disappoint them or anyone else who attended. The concert began with an interesting rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, a work, we were told, that was completed literally hours if not minutes before its performance. It was followed by Singet dem Hern of Bach and the choral Komm süsser Tod, done as the composer intended, and then again by the choir in slow motion, allowing for each singer to pick their own tempo. It resulted in an amazing blur of sound and harmonic color that needs to be heard rather than described. It was quite effective. The majority of the program was comprised of Mr. Whitacre’s music. We heard Alleluia, Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine, and When David Heard. They also performed Sfogava con le stelle of Monteverdi followed by his own Lux Aurorum, which definitely showed both the influence of the former composer as well as Whitacre’s signature 21st century sound. Other pieces on the program included an extended work, The City and the Sea, A Boy and a Girl and the hilarious grouping of texts by Ogden Nash of Animal Crackers. He amended the program by adding a new work, Enjoy the Silence. The Formal program ended with a rendition of Bob Dylan’s text Forever Young set to the music of John Corigliano. It is set for soprano and chorus. Speaking of sopranos, the soloist, Elin Manahan Thomas was superb, a voice that any choral director would covet. They did several encores including Moses Hogan’s Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho and then sent us home to Sleep.
It was also good to see so many of you there taking in this wonderful event. For a listing of Eric Whitacre’s works, browse our website at www.musicalsource.com. You can also listen to some of these pieces as well as other selections at ericwhitacre.com
Stay tuned!
Jack
strong