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Author Topic: Lux Aurumque  (Read 111 times)

Offline Nichi

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Lux Aurumque
« on: December 25, 2009, 06:46:26 AM »
This is not your usual choir piece. Very soothing. Discovered it today, had to share...

<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" loading="lazy" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/owB4j5skYvM/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/owB4j5skYvM"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/owB4j5skYvM&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/owB4j5skYvM&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owB4j5skYvM&feature=related

"Light and Gold"
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Online Michael

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2009, 08:45:35 PM »
Thanks for that Vicki - it is beautifully done. I tend to have problems with choirs, as they almost always sound like European Church music, so it is great to hear some variations.
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Offline Nichi

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2009, 01:12:05 AM »
Glad you liked it, M. I have to confess it makes my eyes water and my lips go numb.
There are orchestra versions of it too. I'll see if I can find a really fine one.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2009, 02:38:59 AM by Nazca »
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Offline Nichi

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2009, 02:52:58 AM »
About the composer.

Wiki:
Eric Whitacre
Born January 2, 1970 (1970-01-02) (age 39)
 
Residence Los Angeles, California
Nationality American
Education University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Juilliard School, New York
Occupation composer
Spouse(s) soprano Hila Plitmann
Website
http://www.ericwhitacre.com

Eric Whitacre (born 2 January 1970[1]) is an American composer of choral, wind band and electronic music. He has also served as a guest conductor for ensembles throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

Musical background

As a student at Douglas High School, Eric Whitacre was expelled from the school band. Whitacre began his musical training while an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he studied composition with avant garde Ukrainian composer Virko Baley and choral conducting with David Weiller. It was here that he wrote his Cloudburst, Water Night, and Three Flower Songs for mixed chorus, and his Ghost Train triptych for concert band. Whitacre received a Master's degree at the Juilliard School with composition studies under both John Corigliano and David Diamond.[2]

Music

In the past decade, Whitacre has become a prominent composer for concert band, and his choral music is widely performed.

Whitacre premiered his first work for stage, Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, in 2004 at California State University, Northridge, one year after premiering the work's musical suite in Berlin, Germany in the summer of 2003. The show is only distantly related to Milton's Paradise Lost. The music of this opera is a mixture of many different styles of music including trance, classical, electronica, and traditional opera. Paradise Lost premiered at the Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena in July and August 2007 with full cast, taiko drums, DJ, anime, and flying rigs.

Musical Style

Whitacre is probably best known for his choral works, however both his choral and instrumental styles are immediately recognizable, namely by his signature "Whitacre chords." These are often seventh or ninth chords, with or without suspended seconds and fourths. Perhaps his most famous chord is a root-position major triad with a suspended major second and/or perfect fourth. Whitacre makes frequent use of quartal, quintal and secondary harmonies, and is also known for his use of unconventional chord progressions. Rhythm is also an important aspect of many pieces he writes, especially his pieces for wind band, which involve mixed, complex, and/or compound meters. His pieces are also known to include frequent meter changes and unusual rhythmic patterns. Another trademark of Whitacre's pieces is the use of aleatoric and indeterminate sections, as well as unusual score instructions involving, in some cases, hand actions and/or props. His style is often compared to that of Morten Lauridsen, but a bit more modern.

Related Projects

Whitacre's music—particularly his music for choir—has inspired the creation of a number of national and international music festivals. In July 2004, the Sydney Opera House hosted the first annual Eric Whitacre Wind Symphony Festival. In June 2007, Venice and Florence, Italy hosted the first Venice Whitacre Festival.

Whitacre is a founding member of the consortium BCM International, a quartet of composers consisting of himself, Steven Bryant, Jonathan Newman, and James Bonney, who, according to their mission statement, aspire to "enrich the wind ensemble repertoire with music unbound by traditional thought or idiomatic cliché."

Works

Brass ensemble
Lux Aurumque

Concert band
Equus
Ghost Train Triptych
Ghost Train
At the Station
Motive Revolution
Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!
Noisy Wheels of Joy
October
Sleep (Choral Transcription)
Lux Aurumque (Choral Transcription, transposed a semitone lower from C-Sharp Minor to C Minor)
Cloudburst (Choral Transcription)
Winter (Choral Transcription)
Libertas Imperio (From Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings)

Choral

Animal Crackers, Volume 1 (Poems by Ogden Nash)
The Panther
The Cow
The Firefly
A Boy and A Girl (poem by Octavio Paz)
Cloudburst (poem by Octavio Paz)
Five Hebrew Love Songs (poem by Hila Plitmann)
Temuna
Kala Kalla (Light Bride)
Larov (Mostly)
Eyze Sheleg! (What snow!)
Rakut (Tenderness)
Her Sacred Spirit Soars (poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri)
Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine (libretto by Charles Anthony Silvestri)
Little Birds (poem by Octavio Paz)
little tree (poem by e. e. cummings)
Lux Aurumque (poem by Edward Esch; translated into Latin by Charles Anthony Silvestri) (also set for male chorus)
She Weeps Over Rahoon (poem by James Joyce)
Sleep (originally a setting of Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening"; for copyright reasons[3] the published version uses a specially-written text by Charles Anthony Silvestri)
The Seal Lullaby (poem by Rudyard Kipling)
This Marriage (poem by Jalal al-Din Rumi)
Three Flower Songs
I Hide Myself (poem by Emily Dickinson)
With a Lily in Your Hand (poem by Federico García Lorca)
Go, Lovely Rose (poem by Edmund Waller)
Three Songs of Faith (poems by E. E. Cummings)
i will wade out
hope, faith, life, love
i thank You God for most this amazing day[4]
When David Heard (from II Samuel 18:33)
Water Night (poem by Octavio Paz; translated by Muriel Rukeyser)
Winter (poem by Edward Esch)
Choral works not yet published:

Animal Crackers, Volume 2 (Poems by Ogden Nash)
The Canary
The Eel
The Kangaroo
the moon is hiding in her hair (poem by E.E. Cummings)
i walked the boulevard (poem by E.E. Cummings)
Nox Aurumque (poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri)
Sleep, My Child (Choral transcription from Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings)
The Stolen Child (poem by William Butler Yeats)

String ensemble
Lux Aurumque
Water Night
A Boy and A Girl
October

Orchestra
Winter (for Strings, Choir and Sitar)

Theatre

Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, an opera featuring electronic, world, and orchestral instruments; classical singers; and many different styles of music.

Other arrangements

Rak HaHatchala (Only the Beginning) [aka Five Hebrew Love Songs]; for soprano voice, solo violin, piano
« Last Edit: December 26, 2009, 02:58:53 AM by Nazca »
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Offline Nichi

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Sleep
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2009, 03:37:58 AM »
E.W conducting.
I'm pretty sure the lyrics are a Robert Frost poem.

<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" loading="lazy" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9shXm0cIeEY/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9shXm0cIeEY"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/9shXm0cIeEY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/9shXm0cIeEY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9shXm0cIeEY&feature=related
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Offline Nichi

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CLOUDBURST
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2009, 03:55:42 AM »
Wow .. wait till you get to the 5:30 --> forward point.


<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" loading="lazy" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0Zqp0OpzMAI/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Zqp0OpzMAI"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/0Zqp0OpzMAI&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/0Zqp0OpzMAI&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zqp0OpzMAI&feature=related

Amazing.


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Online Michael

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2009, 09:44:00 AM »
That is a great piece - I will have to listen to it again, on my headphones of on the new speaker system I bought for Julie's computer - it has some really interesting effects. And very exciting at the cloudburst section - I love the 'lightening' instrument, the sheet of metal thing.
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Offline Nichi

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2009, 12:15:02 PM »
I'd like to hear it on better speakers myself.
Before the big crescendo, the camera pans to the balcony, and there is the distinct sound of whispering -- or the wind. Since the camera looked away, you can't see how they achieved that sound -- I'd love to know if they're doing it vocally or if one of the instruments is involved!
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Online Michael

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #8 on: December 26, 2009, 07:45:50 PM »
Yes I heard that, and like you, wasn't sure - will have to listen more closely.
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Offline Nichi

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Her Sacred Spirit Soars
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2010, 08:38:24 AM »
Whodda thunk the Brigham Young University Singers (Mormons) would be singing of the fae, the muse, and the goddess? Methinks Whitacre has cast a spell.  :)

<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" loading="lazy" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PgZxD9H7XnY/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PgZxD9H7XnY"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/PgZxD9H7XnY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/PgZxD9H7XnY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgZxD9H7XnY

Her sacred spirit soars o'er gilded spires
And breathes into creative fires a force;
In well-tuned chants and chords of countless choirs,
Lives ever her immortal shadowed source.
From age to age the roll of poets grows;
And yet, a lonely few re laurel crowned,
In whose sweet words her inspiration shows,
Revealing insights deep and thoughts profound,
O shall Cecelia, or shall Goddes Muse
Reach then to me across eternal skies?
Is heaven's quick'ning but a ruse,
Abiding rather here before mine eyes?
Nearer than I dream'd is she whose fame
All poets sing, whose glory all proclaim:
"LONG LIVE FAIR ORIANA!

Charles Anthony Silvestri
« Last Edit: January 05, 2010, 09:02:38 AM by Nichi »
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Offline Firestarter

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2010, 08:44:26 AM »
You have to admit, they have one of the best choirs on the planet.
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Offline Nichi

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2010, 08:52:23 AM »
Quote from: ~Satori on January 05, 2010, 08:44:26 AM
You have to admit, they have one of the best choirs on the planet.

Yes indeed! These guys and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! Primo!
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Offline Nichi

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #12 on: March 22, 2010, 01:01:54 PM »
<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" loading="lazy" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D7o7BrlbaDs/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D7o7BrlbaDs"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/D7o7BrlbaDs&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/D7o7BrlbaDs&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

Hot off the cyber-presses!
« Last Edit: March 22, 2010, 01:13:05 PM by Nichi »
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Offline Nichi

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #13 on: April 16, 2010, 01:05:49 PM »
Don't set the volume too high, or thy speakers will rattle about 2/3 in.

<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" loading="lazy" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/o3zCRRVh6Pg/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o3zCRRVh6Pg"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/o3zCRRVh6Pg&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/o3zCRRVh6Pg&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>
« Last Edit: April 16, 2010, 01:10:45 PM by Nichi »
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Offline Nichi

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Re: Lux Aurumque
« Reply #14 on: December 16, 2010, 03:29:53 PM »
<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" loading="lazy" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/awd9gO_b3hQ/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/awd9gO_b3hQ"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/awd9gO_b3hQ?fs=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/awd9gO_b3hQ?fs=1</a>
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