Eric Whitacre Choral Works, Vol. 2 [CD] - BYU Singers, BYU Concert Choir, and BYU Women's Chorus

I first encountered Eric Whitacre’s music when preparing a concert program of music by living American composers for Brigham Young University Singers’ appearance at the 1996 International Choral Symposium in Sydney, Australia. A friend told me of a “most astonishing piece” written by a fellow student while at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, entitled “Cloudburst,” which she thought worthy of performance for “the most discriminating of audiences anywhere.” I contacted the composer who was by then at the Juilliard School. Thus began a very fruitful relationship between Eric Whitacre and the BYU choirs.

With Eric Whitacre’s close collaboration in 2001, BYU Singers recorded the album Eric Whitacre: The Complete A Cappella Works, 1991-2001, which was digitally remastered and rereleased in 2014 as Eric Whitacre Choral Works, Volume 1: A Cappella Works 1991–2001. This album, Eric Whitacre Choral Works, Volume 2, which was originally released in 2008 and titled Brigham Young University Choirs and Eric Whitacre 2, is being rereleased as a followup album of Whitacre’s music. While Volume 1 has been one of the best selling choral CDs all over the world since its original release in 2002, Volume 2 offers performances not only of Whitacre’s pieces for accompanied choir, but also of his a cappella works written since 2001.

The varied performing forces of the pieces in this second album have given us the chance to include with BYU Singers other BYU choirs: BYU Concert Choir, conducted by Rosalind Hall, and BYU Women’s Chorus, conducted at the time of the recording by David Thomas.
All of the strikingly beautiful music on this album confirms that Eric Whitacre is not simply the compositeur du jour. For though his music is being performed and heralded all over the world, he has proven himself an enduring and driving force in today’s choral art, as well as a promising voice for strong direction and vital development for the art for years to come.

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TRACKS

1. LITTLE BIRDS [ 2001 ]
Text by Octavio Paz (1914–98)
Sarah Astle Nowland, piano

2. A BOY AND A GIRL [ 2004 ]
Text by Octavio Paz, English translation by Muriel Rukeyser (1913-80)

3. THIS MARRIAGE [ 2005 ]
Text by Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207–73)

4. HER SACRED SPIRIT SOARS [ 2005 ]
Text by Charles Anthony Silvestri (b. 1965)

FIVE HEBREW LOVE SONGS [ 2002 ]
Text by Hila Plitmann (b. 1973)
BYU Honors String Quartet: Ben Chang, violin; Kate Homer, violin; Leslie Richards, viola; Scott Thomas Lesser, cello

5. TEMUNÁ (A PICTURE)

6. KALÁ KALLÁ (LIGHT BRIDE)

7. LÁROV (MOSTLY)

8. ÉYZE SHÉLEG! (WHAT SNOW!)

9. RAKÚT (TENDERNESS)

10. SHE WEEPS OVER RAHOON [1995]
Text by James Joyce (1882–1941)
Christina Dayton, piano; Kira Leavitt, English horn

11. LITTLE TREE [ 1997 ]
Text by E. E. Cummings (1894-1962)
Jared Oaks, piano
Animal Crackers, Volume 1 [ 2006 ]
Text by Ogden Nash (1902–71)
Sarah Astle Nowland, piano

12. THE PANTHER

13. THE COW

14. THE FIREFLY

CREDITS

Producer (2002): Sandefur Schmidt

Executive producer for Arsis Audio (2002): Robert Schuneman

Remaster producer and executive producer for BYU Records (2014): Ben Fales

Recording engineer: Jon Holloman

Editing engineer: Troy Sales

Mastering engineer (2002): Fred Vogler

Remastering engineer (2014): Troy Sales

BYU Records is part of BYU Music Group, an enterprise center in the School of Music at Brigham Young University and part of the College of Fine Arts and Communications.