This one might throw you for a loop but I have a deep love and great appreciation for classical music. I was actually classically trained in music (voice) for many years and feel most at home within this genre. If you’ve ever seen the movie Shine I am a huge fan of the “big fat chords” that envelop your entire being and make you feel like you’re floating on a bed of sound. I am in complete awe of composers who can hear these songs in their head and translate that to a medium for everyone to enjoy...and be left, mouth agape, in shear wonder of the wall of sound that just hit them.
Eric Whitacre is a modern day composer that I just recently discovered, thanks to my amazing church choir which I am so thankful to be a part of. Last year we were introduced to his extravagant piece called “Lux Aurumque” and it is absolutely stunning. It is four minutes of musical construction that builds an invisible force that fills the room with absolute & tingling beauty. It’s something that everyone should experience.
Right now I’m listening to Whitacres’s Light & Gold, which is the album that the “Lux Aurumque” is a part of. It’s the kind of music that I imagine heaven has playing on repeat. Most people equate classical music to stiff and square individuals that roll their “r’s” and drink their tea with their pinky sticking out. Not so. And I think Whitacre is a fantastic example of what “classical” music has become.
If you are inching your way into classical music, Erick Whitacre is a wonderful introduction. Granted, he isn’t one of the “late, great...and dead” classical composers whose bust lines the walls of music conservatories across the country. But dang...the man is gooood.
Eric was invited to speak at a TED conference in April of 2011 where he talked about his “virtual choir” which is an amazing project he though of that drew over 2,000 participants worldwide. You’ll need to see it for yourself...it’s amazing.
