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Eric Whitacre

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Choir of the World!

July 20, 2009 at 12:01 am UTC

The Westminster Chorus, a southern California ensemble made up entirely of men under the age of 30, has won the fabled Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod “Choir of the World” competition. As part of their winning performance, they performed my men’s arrangement of Lux Aurumque, broadcast on radio and TV throughout Europe and the UK. Watch their beautiful performance on youtube, and please join me in sending them best wishes. Congratulations fellas!

  • Sam

    Wow! Major win on the tenor solo at the beginning! That was seriously intense!

    This is really cool. Fantastic performance.
    I think I still like Cantus's better, though. That few voices works beautifully on this piece.
    But this comes very close. Great job, guys!

  • James Perry

    Eric, I have always wondered a few things about Lux. First of all, why did you transpose the piece down one half step for the wind arrangement? Was it because it would be a much easier key for most instruments to play in? And second, what inspired the total change of the climax at letter C? I personally prefer the wind arrangement of the piece. It has a lot of emotional and sentimental value to my high school's music teachers and department in general. It was a favorite of Bill Kellerman, a music teacher at our school and one of our most beloved friends. He passed away in 2007 after a long battle with cancer and we play letter C of lux as part of our brass warm ups for marching band in honor of him. It is just truly the most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard and forces me through so many emotions that move me to tears. Whether they be tears of sadness because of the tragic beauty of letter C, or tears of joy because of the relief of the picardi third at the end, it always gets something out of me. Sorry I got so side tracked, but I'd love it if you could answer those two questions for me. Thank you so much for both your beautiful music and taking time to connect with all of us.

  • http://www.jedisanctuary.org Riddle Nox

    You should arrange MORE pieces for Men!!!

  • http://www.youtube.com/xoclkox Courtney Lea K.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdiI1DHRz9U

    ^^ Here's the link I posted on your facebook! ^^

    Hope you watch it!
    Thanks

  • Katie D

    Gosh I get chills everytime I listen to your music! These guys were awesome; :)you should definitely have another Eric Whitacre extravaganza in Houston, Texas!

  • tessyeggerman

    Wonderful wonderful Lux…I love the deep sound this has (both the arrangement and the choir itself). Your music is always so pure and chilling at the same time. It just hits you right where it needs to…whether it's between the eyes or the chambers of the heart. And this choir performed it with nuances and all! Well done guys and congrats! It's amazing how full the sound was for such few people. Wow…*adds video to YouTube favorites*. <- 'Nuff said? :)

  • Bethan Thomas

    Wow.

    Thats all it needs to describe it. The Tenor G both at the beginning and end is incredible. I'm not sure which arrangement I prefer now! The original or the mens' version.

    Just Wow.

  • Amber D

    Wow. That is simply amazing.
    Those guys have such character! And the conductor…no words for him.

    An amazing piece mixed with an amazing choir…pure love.

  • Daniel C

    These guys make me proud to be a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society!

  • Eoin

    I must be in the minority, if the judges awarded first prize to this choir, and if Eric himself gave it his official approval, but this performance just doesn't move me the way that other performances of Lux have done. The blending, tuning, etc, are all beyond criticism, as one would expect from a choir competing at this level. But the final section in particular, "canunt modo natum", felt very rushed and stiffly metronomical to me. If I were conducting it, I'd give that last page a lot more room to breathe and flex. Those harmonies are so wonderfully squishy, I think the audience needs more time to appreciate them fully.

  • http://www.youtube.com/choirnerd99 ChoirNerd99

    I like how last year or the year before they took the gold in the Barbershop Harmony Society's International Competition, now they were awarded Choir of the World.

  • Karen A

    My daughter's youth choir from Iowa competed at the Llangollen festival two years ago and they did "With a Lily in Your Hand" as their required "American" piece. Eric, you are getting excellent exposure in Llangollen! It was a great experience for her and the first time she had sung your music – just thrilling for all!

  • Charles Chadwick

    @James Perry: C minor is an easier key for winds because C# minor transposes to G#, 6 sharps on B flat instruments and D flat on Eb instruments. Therefore it is an easier key for winds to play in.

    @the video: I love how the low C# was so loud and audible! Jealous!

  • lenaheero

    I think it sounded even better then with SATB (well I love both versions but maybe the all guys choir just a little bit more) :)

  • Steven

    Interesting how some notes in this arrangement stand out and really make a difference, while hardly being noticable in the original SATB. I like both arrangements but I still prefer the SATB version, it has more depth and spaciousness (spelling may not be right?).

    But a nice performance. Too bad the sound's so crappy.

  • Michaela

    The Men's version of Lux Aurumque is simply stunning! Just as beautiful as the SATB version. Wonderful choir, blending, rich and pure tones. I also love how the conductor conducts the crescendos and decrescendos in waves, it almosts feels like your in a boat riding along the waves very gently and at times intense…Eric Whitare, you are purely and honestly a miracle of life…Thank You for inspiring me and your fans, Thank You for your music.

  • Ryan

    To Eoin,

    I disagree about it being metronomical because it is in fact conducted quite rubato. But, it is repetitive in the way each repeated figure is sung. And rightfully so. There is something inherently static in parts of the piece (not to its detriment in any way, but purposefully so). As for the rushing, I'd chalk some of that up to the stage they were on. That's only my opinion. Oh, and there were two other songs on that set. Check 'em out before you make full judgment on the judges.

    But as to how you would conduct it: to each their own interpretation. Appreciate the differences in interpretation. Therein lies one of the beauties of music. No need to criticize this group. Their performance was immaculate. Thanks for your opinion, but instead of posting criticisms, go out and sing (conduct) it in a way you like better. I would love to hear it.

    To Westminster,

    Nice job boys.

  • Rebecca Cerk

    This is perfection. Oh my.
    I do miss the female voices, but it's still gorgeous.
    I dont usually get into this musical state with only male voices.

  • Eoin

    To Ryan,

    I listened to their performance, and there were some parts of it which I felt other performers have done better. That's all. I do appreciate that it's only my opinion, and I don't doubt that plenty of care and thought went into shaping their interpretation.

    You say that there's "no need to criticize this group", and that instead of posting criticism, I should go out and perform the piece better than they did. There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with somebody's interpretation, or with expressing criticism. Criticism is not an insult.

  • Inger

    I've heard this magnificent piece performed hundreds of times in my many years as a "choir mom." This is one of the most exquisite renderings I've heard! I was especially impressed with it, knowing that this is a barbershop chorus and this piece is so far on the opposite end of the scale vocally than what barbershoppers usually do. Quite a testament to the versatility and skills of the guys! Good job!

  • http://bluemusical.blogspot.com Paul

    I think the rendition of Lux Arumque by Raffles Chorale is the best one I've heard on Youtube though!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUGhA7zquC0

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Eric Whitacre is one of the most popular and performed composers of our time, a distinguished conductor, broadcaster and public speaker. His first album as both composer and conductor on Decca/Universal, Light & Gold, won a Grammy® in 2012, reaped unanimous five star reviews and became the no. 1 classical album in the US and UK charts within a week of release... full bio

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