Eric Whitacre

For years maestro Craig Hella Johnson and his incredible choir Conspirare have been quietly changing the game, taking choral music to a completely new level of depth and artistry. Recently, they’ve exploded onto the scene with a bunch of well-deserved Grammy nods and a national PBS special.

Craig asked me if they could arrange What If from Paradise Lost for the special, and of course I said YES. Basically, they kept the vocal parts exactly as they were in original quintet, and then recreated the electronica track acoustically with a percussion ensemble. The result is magical.

Here’s the original:

[audio http://ericwhitacre.com/wp-content/uploads/6-what-if-final-master.mp3]

And here is their brilliant version:

Be sure to check your local listings to catch the entire concert on PBS.