Jordan Flight 45 High Eric Whitacre on Choral Writ

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But above that, I think what I'm hoping they'll experience is a sense of communion, that they feel together as this little tribe onstage. And I really write with that in mind. In terms of the giant climax of pieces, everybody's singing -- they lead to it a different way, but they all come together at a certain point. I try to build these moments of tribalness, if you will [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], so there's a feeling in the group onstage. I try to do that in the band music, too.
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He's just such an open collaborator. That's very rare, to have somebody who is so gifted and yet is willing to sort of bend. And Tony bends a lot when he's with me. I ask a lot from him.
What was I looking at the other day [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], like Tchaik 5 or Tchaik 6 [Tchaikovsky's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies] and there was this massive chord. Everybody on stage is playing, except the English horn. They're all up there, and you're not going to hear the English horn anyway, so why not give the English horn the same thrill of being a part of the band? So I'll always do that. I'm trying to think about the individual player feeling like they're part of the group.
I think it makes the piece thrilling. I think the audience sits there breathless, like, are they going to make it? Is this going to happen? And I think that's built into the piece.
AH: James Barnes once told me that composing is like the Narnia books: You get up every m
AH: What makes a good choral piece? When you write one, what do you always want to keep in mind?
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Q&A with Composer Eric Whitacre
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When Suite101 spoke with composer Eric Whitacre, widely acclaimed for his music for choirs, the conversation turned to selecting the right text, the feeling of unity within a musical group and the special give-and-take he has with his friend and collaborator.
EW: Oh, man! [Laughs.] I don't know. He's a dream. And you know, it's not just the collaboration, which is incredible as well. It's him as my best friend, so the conversations that we have will be about the piece, but they'll also be about us and about life. I've known Tony now since I was [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], my God, 19 years old. So I've known Tony longer than just about anybody I still know. That relationship, then, is integral to writing and the creative process as well.
EW: Exactly. But it's one of the things I love about The Rite of Spring. Every time I've seen it performed, especially as they get to the second movement, and it's like you can see the entire orchestra sort of hunkers down. And there's this sense that all of them, including the conductor, are like, oh shit, we're all in this together. Everybody ready? We're all in the same foxhole. OK, go, go GO!
Vocal Performance as Tribal Experience
Relationship with Tony Silvestri
AH: What do you want singers to learn or feel as they rehearse and eventually perform one of your choral works?
AH: So the collective energy then?
AH: What would your music be like without Tony Silvestri helping you?
EW: Well, for me, the beginning and the end of any great choral work is the poetry. I feel the best choral pieces have exquisite poetry, and then do exactly what the poem tells them to do. That's been my experience. The plans to build the house are all built right in, and you just have to shut up long enough to hear what the poet was saying, and then do that.
EW: Ideally, what they feel is the same thing that the audience is feeling. It depends on the piece itself, right? Some pieces are sorrow, some pieces are joy, some pieces are funny. Ideally, they're experiencing that same emotion as they perform it.