Eric Whitacre: Cloudburst and Other Choral Works

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Similar Items:

•	Eric Whitacre: The Complete A Cappella Works, 1991-2001
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•	Nocturne
•	Morten Lauridsen: Lux aeterna

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Eric Whitacre is one of the leading lights of the choral music scene. The 14 text-centered, emotionally-charged works on this well-filled disc suggest why. Outwardly conservative, his music is full of fascinating harmonic explorations, dynamic shifts, and rhythmic nuances that make them fun to sing and absorbing to listen to. The texts are drawn from poets of the stature of e.e. cummings, Octavio Paz, Garcia Lorca, and Emily Dickinson, among others. And they pack emotional power, as in When David Heard, whose Biblical text is illuminated by powerful tiered dynamics. He's adept at tonal contrasts as well, the soaring sopranos in Sleep have their counterparts in a firm bass line. In Cloudburst he adds piano and percussion to the unaccompanied chorus to dramatic effect, and in some works, such as Cummings' "hope, faith, life, love" he chooses to set only a handful of the poem's text, with harmonic movements and other unexpected twists focusing attention. The fine English chorus, Polyphony, is at their best here, clearly relishing the inventiveness of the music, and the sound is from Hyperion's top drawer. --Dan Davis

Product Description
At the age of only 35, Eric Whitacre has already gained a phenomenal reputation in the United States. The Los Angeles Times described his music as having a€~electric, chilling harmonies; works of unearthly beauty and imaginationa€™ and 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.

Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Refreshing new take on Whitacre February 28, 2006
51 out of 57 found this review helpful

"Cloudburst" is a welcome addition to the expanding library of recordings of Eric Whitacre's choral works. Here, the radiant Polyphony sings expertly, as always, and brings new life to many of Whitacre's pieces with their remarkable intonation, musical phrasing, and spine-tingling dynamic range. This is a special choir made up of some special voices. Conductor Stephen Layton offers some fresh perspectives, with musically sound conducting choices throughout the album. Certain selections stand head and shoulders above any previous recordings, especially "i thank You God..." and "Sleep," where Layton strikes a glorious balance of momentum and rubato, and the nuanced singing evidences the discipline and artistry of the group.

Fantastic recordings of newer Whitacre pieces add to the value of the album. These are some of the strongest tracks on the CD: Her Sacred Spirit Soars, A Boy and a Girl, and This Marriage, all excellent and evidence of Whitacre's development as a composer. Conspicuously absent is "Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine," one of Whitacre's most popular pieces.

Despite Polyphony's many successes here, there are some less than stellar moments interspersed throughout this album of outstanding choral artistry. Occasionally it sounds as though there are 2 separate choirs battling it out here, the high voices and low voices. The pitch-perfect high voices consistently sing in traditional English straight tone, while the the men occasionally vary from their usual gorgeous unified choral tone to a wobbly male Wagnerian opera chorus several times throughout the album, especially on forte passages. The result is a mismatched, uneven blend that robs some of the dense, stacked chords of their signature Whitacreian magic.

Also, the interpretation of "When David Heard" is a real misfire for Layton and is the low point of the album. Layton frantically rushes the choir through the staggeringly mournful piece as though he's got a dinner appointment to get to. This is especially evident during the dramatic climax of the piece, where one can feel the singers' natural musicality dragging against Layton's unrelentingly fast tempo. This may be a case of a conductor choosing a tempo out of concern for being original rather than out of concern for being true to the piece.

The most notable previous recording of Whitacre's works was done by the Brigham Young University Singers, conducted by Dr. Ronald Staheli. For my part, the stunning BYU Singers recording still stands as the definitive recording of Whitacre's choral works. This American college choir brilliantly captures the essence of Whitacre's distinctly American voice with their fantastic blend, pure, unmanipulated tone, and sensitivity to text.

Overall, Polyphony's recording proves to be a must-have for any Whitacre fan and is a stand out addition to the catalog of Whitacre choral recordings.

5 out of 5 stars

Definitive Whitacre February 18, 2006
23 out of 26 found this review helpful

I suppose I'm somewhat biased towards Eric's music; he and I struck up a nice friendship in the mid 1990's when we were both living in Las Vegas. Back then, he was riding high from the success of "Cloudburst" for choir and percussion and "Ghost Train" for wind ensemble while finishing his undergraduate degree at UNLV, but since then he has refined his compositional technique and given us some real gems that are finding an enduring place in choral literature. Several university ensembles have produced satisfactory representations of his music, but these recordings have more or less been about the desire to flaunt both the blending of voices and the emotional content of particular moments. Other elements are ignored. Stephen Layton's superb professional ensemble Polyphony knows they can sing beautifully; they've been there and done that countless times since they were formed in 1986, so the focus of Cloudburst is similar to their other fantastic recordings of Britten, Rutter, Grainger, Tavener, Walton, and Lauridsen: phrasing and musicality. Layton infuses a momentum to Eric's music we have not yet heard, and after listening to "When David Heard" and "Water Night" countless times while adjudicating choral festivals, it's great to experience those compositions rendered with the holistic approach that is the hallmark of great English choral ensembles. Moreover, just like Eric, Layton is all about the poetry; delivering the glorious verses of Cummings, Dickenson, Waller, Paz, Lorca, and Eric's personal friend Charles Silvestri is clearly foremost in the conductor's mind, and the result is one of the most satisfactory choral CDs I've heard in quite a while.

5 out of 5 stars

Mesmerising March 2, 2006
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Some of the best choral singing I've ever heard - and I'm very choosy. Obviously people are comparing this with the BYU recording - in my mind Polyphony has produced an awesome, mature, professionally interpreted and stunningly sung disc, and nothing else comes remotely close. This will never be out of my CD player.

5 out of 5 stars

Sublime Music, Superbly sung March 3, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

There is good reason for this recording to be topping the bestseller charts. Polyphony Choir based in England is a fantastic choir comprising some very special voices, some genius musicality and all brought together under the masterful direction of Stephen Layton. I had never heard Eric Whitacre before purchasing this disc, but I am a huge fan of Polyphony, which encouraged me to buy it, and I was NOT disappointed. Whitacre's music is sung superbly in this recording with Polyphony demonstrating their huge range of control and passion over the wide variety of Whitacre's music. From tumultuous crescendos and towering climaxes to earth-shatteringly quiet and mournful passages of despair, Polyphony seem to pull every trick out of the bag to ensure that this disc is one that every serious choral music enthusiast should own.

5 out of 5 stars

Eric Whitacre is awesome! March 21, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This CD of Eric Whitacre's music gives a broad overview of his incredible talents and choosing Polyphony to record was a brilliant decision. Eric's music requires absolutely accurate pitch and voice color control to be heard at its best and Polyphony delivers big time. Of course, what makes your hair stand on end and brings tears to your eyes are Eric's subtle and oh-so-lovely turns of phrases, dissonances and resolutions into the most gorgeous chords in a cappella music today. This is a CD to listen to over and over again.

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