Yep. Worldwide. Woo hoo!
Here is a re-post of both volumes of Animal Crackers, beautifully performed by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain:
And here is a re-post of The Stolen Child, performed again by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the King’s Singers:
Words cannot express how difficult this was…
Hila and I just listened (again) to all of the entries for the soprano solo. SUCH gorgeous voices, and such profound courage. More than once I teared up, completely moved by the spirit and passion of the singing. Bravo to all of you!
After watching a few times, and writing down our favorites (without showing each other) Hila and I both came up with the same entry: the sparkling, effervescent track recorded by Melody Myers of Tennessee:
Melody is invited to join us in New York to be a part of the Paradise Lost insanity. (Melody, please contact my assistant Juliette at juliette@ericwhitacre.com to set everything up). I’ll be posting the winners of the four other parts (SATB) VERY soon.
Woo hoo!
Tickets for the Carnegie Hall performance of Paradise Lost (June 15th) will go on sale one month from today, March 1st. Woo hoo!
And I’ll be announcing the scholarship winners very soon. Some EXTRAORDINARY singers this time around…
How cool is this?
(BTW, Hila has been doing this same thing for years, every time we take a road trip somewhere. Sometimes she improvises Hebrew lyrics about where we are going, or whether or not she needs to pee. It never gets old).
In 1999 (I think it was 1999) I attended the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop. It was an incredible experience, three weeks of seminars with film music agents, music contractors, and composers. (James Newton Howard gave a two hour Q&A, and I was sitting right next to him, freaking out the entire time).
At the end of the three week session a hat was passed around the room, and each of the ten student composers pulled a piece of paper from it. On each piece of paper was the name of a different movie, all movies that were in theaters at that time. (I remember someone getting Will Smith’s Wild Wild West). I got the Glenn Close live-action version of 101 Dalmatians.
Then, we were each given a 3-4 minute scene from the film we had pulled from the hat, and were told that we had three days to score it for a 40 piece orchestra. On top of that, we would conduct our score ‘to picture’ and would record with an A-list ensemble on the legendary Sony sound stage.
I took my video home and watched it again and again, and the sound that I kept coming back to was Prokofiev meets John Williams meets the overture to Candide. I killed myself trying to finish it, slept only a few hours a night, and no sleep the last night. (Seriously, I have no idea how film composers do it).
When I got to the sound stage, I was worried that maybe the music I had written was too difficult – what if the orchestra wouldn’t be able to play it? Heh. Here’s the recording of the cue the very first time they looked at it, a cold sight-read:
And here is the cue as it appeared in the actual film, with original score by Michael Kamen. My cue begins around the 1:00 mark, but it doesn’t line up at all. I think I must have scored an earlier cut of the scene, or youtube is playing it fast. Anyway, the orchestra is supposed to be constantly commenting on the scene: Pongo the dog falls in love; Bill Pullman’s buffoonish theme as he climbs onto his bike; the skater that runs into the lamp post; the glory of London’s Trafalgar square; the cars about to hit him; the stairs rattling his body as he rides his bicycle down them; and the final stinger at the end of the cue is supposed to sound at the same time he hits the water.
After the workshop, I transcribed the cue for wind ensemble (almost note for note) and called it Noisy Wheels of Joy, which is a line from the E.E. Cummings poem “i walked the boulevard.” For the record, I nearly called it There’s Magic Everywhere, a tribute to the last line that Calvin says to Hobbes in their last comic strip; but my friend and fellow BCM International founder Jonathan Newman convinced me to go with the Cummings.
Here is the wind ensemble version. The performance is a little rough around the edges, but it’s definitely Noisy Wheels of Joy:
I’m trying to (quickly) put together a small but dedicated consortium of bands to premiere my new transcription of “The Seal Lullaby.” It’s scored for wind symphony and solo piano, grade 2+/3. If you or your ensemble is interested, or would like more information, please email my assistant Juliette at juliette@ericwhitacre.com. Woo hoo!
Here is a re-post of the original version, which I wrote for SATB choir and piano:
Sleep My Child is the trio from Act II of Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, the big music theater piece that we will perform at Carnegie this June. Chanticleer commissioned an SATB arrangement of it for their tour last year, and while I received a bunch of emails from people saying they loved it, I’d never actually heard it. (I was unable to attend any of their rehearsals, and I never could catch them on tour).
I just discovered a link to a live performance and it kind of blew my mind. Remember, Chanticleer is made up entirely of men, and only 12 of them.
Here is a link to their performance:
Here is a re-post of the original trio:
And here are the first 10 pages of the published sheet music, available this spring.
Am I the only one out there who thinks this might be the greatest collector’s item of all time?
I used to dream of a synth rig like that. And boots like that.
Here are the first four pages of little man in a hurry. This will be the fifth piece in a new choral cycle called The City and the Sea. The other pieces in the set will be: i walked the boulevard; the moon is hiding in her hair; maggie and millie and molly and may; and as is the sea marvelous.
All five pieces (maybe more if I get crazy) are settings of poems by E.E. Cummings; and all five pieces use some variation of my ‘oven-mitt’ technique.
Here is the complete poem:
little man
(in a hurry
full of an
important worry)
halt stop forget relax
wait
(little child
who have tried
who have failed
who have cried)
lie bravely down
sleep
big rain
big snow
big sun
big moon
(enter
us)
E.E. Cummings
Here are the first four pages:
“little man in a hurry” pgs. 1-4
Apparently, there are thirty-seven different choirs signed on as part of the commissioning consortium. (!) Are you in one of them? I’d love to hear your experience with the piece once you begin rehearsals…
Good god – writing this last piece was a beast. I’ve been working for about two months on this (relatively) small piece for chorus and piano, a setting of E.E. Cummings “little man in a hurry”. I just finished last night. I’ll post a few pages of it soon, and I’ll also announce the winners of the Paradise Lost scholarship.
It’s good to be back in civilization…
Happy New Year, everyone! I sincerely hope that 2010 is a joyous one for each of you, filled with wonder and awe.
To send off 2009 in style, here’s the Choir of the Westminster Cathedral (London) giving a stunning performance of Lux Aurumque during Midnight Mass last week.
My great friend (and fellow BCM International founder) Jim Bonney just turned me on to Jack Conte, a brilliant singer/songwriter who is currently tearing up YouTube. I am smitten with Jack’s music, lyrics, production skills, voice – he’s the complete package, a major talent with a profoundly unique voice. And he’s incredibly hip with his fanbase, actively engaging them at the end of every video and directing them to his web store, all while remaining genuine and charming.
I’m certain that he’s making a living as a musician now, totally supporting himself with his self-produced songs, videos and web store. As soon as he starts to tour, his fans will explode, selling out concerts, buying t-shirts and (every songwriter’s dream) showing up knowing all of his lyrics. Best of all, he’ll never need to sign with a label; he can just keep doing all of it himself, with a small, dedicated staff, always staying true to his personal artistic vision.
Love love love what he is achieving – so very inspiring.
This morning I was in the gym listening to Cecilia Bartoli’s exquisite new album Sacrificium when she sang something that literally stopped me dead in my tracks. I can’t imagine how ridiculous I looked, standing in the middle of the weight room with my giant headphones and tears in my eyes.
Here is the excerpt, from “Profezie, di me diceste” by Sedecia. Listen for the third phrase, where she sings for nearly thirty seconds without a breath.
Wow… a truly spine-tingling sound recording from 1953. One of my very favorite poems, read by the great E.E. Cummings:
And here is the excellent VU Kamercoor (Netherlands) performing my setting, which I composed in 1999:
As someone who has spent way, way too much of his life playing Tetris, I found this video hilarious and oddly… comforting. There is no question in my mind that this is exactly the way this infernal game works.
Can you tell that I am procrastinating?
A big shout-out to super-choir Conspirare, whose CD A Company of Voices: Conspirare in Concert was nominated in the classical crossover category. One of the tracks on the album is a very cool arrangement of What If from my show Paradise Lost.
Here’s a re-post of that arrangement. Congratulations, Conspirare!
Yes, the scholarship deadline will also be moved to January 1st. Woo hoo!
It’s true: in a fit of post-holiday cheer I have decided to extend the deadline for video submissions to January 1st. Seriously, have I mentioned how great this is going to be? You’ve GOT to do this!
An absolutely incredible Ted talk on conducting and the nature of communication within an ensemble. Fascinating viewing regardless your vocation, but a must-watch for would-be conductors.
Hila just posted the track that she recorded for the movie “New York, I Love You.”Check it out!
Instead of calling my string orchestra transcription of Water Night ‘Water Night for String Orchestra’, I’ve been considering giving it a different name altogether. I want something that is connected to the original choral work but sets the string version apart, giving it it’s own life and identity.
The title I’ve been toying with is Silence and Solitude. What do you think?
Back to California (and regular posting) in a couple of days…
If you happen to be in the Columbus area this weekend, may I highly recommend hearing the excellent ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. They’ll be led by their resident Maestro Dr. Timothy Russel in a lovely and wide-ranging program. Here’s the lineup:
Vivaldi – Concerto for Flute in D Major, “The Goldfinch”
Whitacre – Water Night for Strings
Casals – Song for the Birds
Rogers – Iridescent Prairies (World Premiere)
Beethoven – Symphony No. 6 in F Major, “Pastoral”
Pretty cool program, and I’m thrilled that they’ve chosen Water Night. Wish wish wish I could be there.
If any of you happen to hear the concert, please let me know how it goes, and be sure to tell the players (and the maestro) that I send my regards.
Here’s a re-post of Water Night for Strings:
