Customer Reviews

Eric Whitacre: Cloudburst and Other Choral Works

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Cloudburst" is a welcome addition to the expanding library of recordings of Eric Whitacre's choral works. Here, Polyphony sings expertly, as always, and brings new life to many of Whitacre's pieces with their remarkable intonation, musical phrasing, and spine-tingling dynamic range. This is a special choir made up of some special voices. Conductor Stephen Layton offers some fresh perspectives, with musically sound conducting choices throughout the album (with one major exception, see below). Certain selections stand head and shoulders above any previous recordings, especially "i thank You God..." and "Sleep," where Layton strikes a glorious balance of momentum and rubato, and the nuanced singing evidences the discipline and artistry of the group. (If Polyphony's sopranos don't take your breath away at the climax of "Sleep," nothing will!)

Fantastic recordings of newer Whitacre pieces add to the value of the album. These are some of the strongest tracks on the CD: Her Sacred Spirit Soars, A Boy and a Girl, and This Marriage, all excellent and evidence of Whitacre's development as a composer. Conspicuously absent is "Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine," one of Whitacre's most popular choral compositions.

Despite Polyphony's many successes here, there are several less than stellar moments interspersed throughout this album of outstanding choral artistry. Occasionally it sounds as though there are 2 separate choirs battling it out here: the high voices and low voices. The pitch-perfect high voices consistently sing in traditional English straight tone, while the the men occasionally vary from their usual gorgeous unified choral tone to a wobbly male Wagnerian opera chorus several times throughout the album, especially on forte passages. The unfortunate result is a mismatched, uneven blend that robs some of the dense, stacked chords of their signature Whitacreian magic.

Also, the interpretation of "When David Heard" is a real misfire for Layton and is the low point of the album. Layton frantically rushes the choir through the staggeringly huge, mournful piece as though he's got a dinner appointment to get to. This is especially evident during the dramatic climax of the piece, where one can feel the singers' natural musicality dragging against Layton's unrelentingly fast tempo. It's an odd choice by Layton, especially considering his expert treatment of most everything else on the album.

Overall, Polyphony's recording proves to be a must-have for any Whitacre fan and is a stand out addition to the catalog of Whitacre choral recordings.

There is good reason for this recording to be topping the bestseller charts. Polyphony Choir based in England is a fantastic choir comprising some very special voices, some genius musicality and all brought together under the masterful direction of Stephen Layton. I had never heard Eric Whitacre before purchasing this disc, but I am a huge fan of Polyphony, which encouraged me to buy it, and I was NOT disappointed. Whitacre's music is sung superbly in this recording with Polyphony demonstrating their huge range of control and passion over the wide variety of Whitacre's music. From tumultuous crescendos and towering climaxes to earth-shatteringly quiet and mournful passages of despair, Polyphony seem to pull every trick out of the bag to ensure that this disc is one that every serious choral music enthusiast should own.

I suppose I'm somewhat biased towards Eric's music; he and I struck up a nice friendship in the mid 1990's when we were both living in Las Vegas. Back then, he was riding high from the success of "Cloudburst" for choir and percussion and "Ghost Train" for wind ensemble while finishing his undergraduate degree at UNLV, but since then he has refined his compositional technique and given us some real gems that are finding an enduring place in choral literature. Several university ensembles have produced satisfactory representations of his music, but these recordings have more or less been about the desire to flaunt both the blending of voices and the emotional content of particular moments. Other elements are ignored. Stephen Layton's superb professional ensemble Polyphony knows they can sing beautifully; they've been there and done that countless times since they were formed in 1986, so the focus of Cloudburst is similar to their other fantastic recordings of Britten, Rutter, Grainger, Tavener, Walton, and Lauridsen: phrasing and musicality. Layton infuses a momentum to Eric's music we have not yet heard, and after listening to "When David Heard" and "Water Night" countless times while adjudicating choral festivals, it's great to experience those compositions rendered with the holistic approach that is the hallmark of great English choral ensembles. Moreover, just like Eric, Layton is all about the poetry; delivering the glorious verses of Cummings, Dickenson, Waller, Paz, Lorca, and Eric's personal friend Charles Silvestri is clearly foremost in the conductor's mind, and the result is one of the most satisfactory choral CDs I've heard in quite a while.

Some of the best choral singing I've ever heard - and I'm very choosy. Obviously people are comparing this with the BYU recording - in my mind Polyphony has produced an awesome, mature, professionally interpreted and stunningly sung disc, and nothing else comes remotely close. This will never be out of my CD player.

This CD of Eric Whitacre's music gives a broad overview of his incredible talents and choosing Polyphony to record was a brilliant decision. Eric's music requires absolutely accurate pitch and voice color control to be heard at its best and Polyphony delivers big time. Of course, what makes your hair stand on end and brings tears to your eyes are Eric's subtle and oh-so-lovely turns of phrases, dissonances and resolutions into the most gorgeous chords in a cappella music today. This is a CD to listen to over and over again.

Inevitably, this albumn is going to be compared to the BYU album of Whitacre's music (which I love). Overall, I feel BYU album is significantly better. Some of Whitacre's pieces need a larger soundstage to gain the proper effect (Sleep and When David Heard, namely) and BYU's director Stehli really understands this and the tempos/phrasing that these pieces require. That being said, there are some pieces on this album that are performed I think better than BYU. Cloudburst is given a masterfull performance by Polyphany, the middle section actually sounds like a downpour and is more in spirit with the piece than the comparatively paltry sound effect treatment BYU gives the piece (albiet well sung). It is additionally helped by impeccable phrasing and the smaller ensemble gives the indiviual parts places to breathe and expand. The same might be said of I thank thee God for this most amazing day, a fabulous performance by Polyphany. The 3 note saprano soli in the middle of the piece is done very well and not muddled like on BYU's recording. Overall, this album has really grown on me with every listen and is definately worth the cost. It does give some fresh sound and sometimes better recordings of Eric Whitacre's beautiful music. Buy it!

Going over what most people have already said.
Polyphony does a wonderful job with each piece.
I think the new pieces, including This Marriage are sung beautifully.
Polyphony also gives a new sound to some of the bigger songs written by Eric Whitacre.
-A Comparison-
It was stated in the cd cover from "Complete A Capella Works", Roh Staheli used former members of the group to sing along with the current group for the larger pieces such as,"Water Night", "When David Heard" and "Cloudburst". Which gave a heavy advantage to the 23 singers of Polyphony. But also muddied the recording and the sound in parts with such a large choir, I estimated around 80 singers, also the instruments and accompaniment clouded up "Cloudburst" in the climactic areas.(excuse any punns used) BYU Singers are hard to match in talent, blend, and overall balance. Polyphony, although heavy with their dipthongs and accents, and consonants (which is what makes "Cloudburst" so much more amazing), has a beautiful sound, also they are never shy with the sopranos on high notes. Neither group is more mature sounding than the other, Polyphony has their moments, but so do the BYU Singers. Polyphony has the advantage of the newer arrangements by E.W. free from comparison as they have not yet been professionally recorded. A Boy and a Girl has such a dissonant opening that is mastered by Polyphony, in blend and balance. The first madrigal type song from Eric, "This Marriage", seems to fit this group wonderfully, as the English invented the Madrigal and the perfect 4 part sound. Last, "Her Sacred Psirit Soars", is Cambridge esque in chanting, but classic Eric in progressive stacking of chords through the SATB's.


Some Observations
Polyphony, I believe, gives a clean and clear interpretation of the song "Cloudburst" which, when I first heard it, gave me goosebumps and also a completely new appreciation for the song. To be honest, I thought BYU Singers sounded ill prepared for "Cloudburst" and a little under pitch during the heavy instrumental part. So, Polyphony's version of "Cloudburst" is a wonderful reason to buy this cd.

Another commentor mentioned that the group sounded scattered or maybe a bit un-even in their sound. If you look into the cover of the cd, there is an amazing picture of the cathedral in which they sang in, as well as the scattered formation in which they stood. The cathedral was probably microphoned closer to one side of the room to avoid interference from intsruments.

I also was surprised because I had just seen, "DaVinci Code" in theaters and in the movie they actually end up in that same cathedral that Polyphony recorded this cd in.

"Leondardo Dreams" I'm sad to heard didn't make it in the cd. The Cathedral shown in DaVinci Code and the song written about DaVinci's Flying Machine, would have been a great coincidence.

Also, if anyone has noticed that Polyphony is almost a half-step lower in pitch on each of their songs than a correctly tuned piano. I think they tuned off of the Xylophone or bells used in "Cloudburst". Also, there is a note discrepancy in "When David Heard" along the mens part in the middle of the song. Tenors singing "Absolom". I had bought the piece of music, but for some reason cannot find it, especially now that I know, one of the two exceptional groups is singing a wrong note!

There is a male alto in this group, that sticks out quite a bit, especially in forte areas, when his breath runs low. It's sad that I can hear that.

i still prefer the byu singer's collection of whitacre. it is much, much more expressive and hauntingly beautiful. it's hard to go wrong with whitacre, but for me this cd was the anticlimax to what ronald staheli had already accomplished with amazing brilliance.

Eric Whitacre is an amazing composer. He uses just the right amount of tension and release in his chord structures, creating the kind of beauty in music that gives you goose bumps. Some of the cluster chords and progressions are absolutely breathtaking. If you have ever sung in a choir or enjoy choral music, you will understand and appreciate the talent used to sing cluster chords as in tune as the choir on this CD. I would highly recommend this CD to anyone who likes choral music and anyone else who would like to expand their level of music listening.

These beautiful songs transported me into a whole new space. The well-chosen poetry (eg. Rumi) and the magnificent harmonies demand well-focused attention. This is not "background music". Not recommended for driving!