King's College Cambridge 2008 #16 Lux Aurumque Eric Whitacre

[montiolivetti]

Check out The King's Singers' new recording of the low-voice version written by Eric. Search "Lux Arumque King's Singers" on YouTube... it's incredible!!!

[smallville7freak]

holy shit this is just amazing!! i kept getting chills every second!

[margotlorena1]

that must have been EPIC

I just wan to go to England to see and hear this little fellas sing :D :D

[ferka07]

no this wasn't perfect i have heard better Lux from other choirs there was some funky stuff going on at the end, but it was still good

[Fuzzbuttuk]

One word. STUNNING.

[mikesolejazz]

Last year we had O magnum mysterum at this point, this year an equally beautiful piece, a wonderful opening. you can tell its him again too, those voicing's are just out of this world.

thank you so much for posting this, you've made my evening!

Mike Sole, Leicester, England.

[cgoverland69]

The breathing is a bit off, the sopranos are a little flat, there is too much dissonance, the consonants need to be stressed more, the tempo is too slow, the church is too small, the singers are too young, the tone quality is poor, there should be more scatting, the director is full of himself, and Eric Whitacre is a douche bag. I could do SO much better than these idiots.

[sabbath723]

@cgoverland69 Oh I forgot is that why you're as famous as him and sing in a world class choir? Wow. Someone's super cool. Don't forget that people poor their hearts into their music and it's such a vulnerable self-expression so try not to be too big of a super douche.

[JazzHalesBabyGurl]

@cgoverland69 Latin isn't about the consonants, it's about the vowels. When sung the consonants just get in the way of the purity. Eric Whitacre made the dissonance so the chords "shimmered". If you'd buy the music and read his reasons for the dissonance you'd understand. These "idiots" as you say are the home of The King's Singers, look them up too! OS before you go talk crap on a musical concept know all the facts first. you'll make more friends that way!

[JazzHalesBabyGurl]

@cgoverland69 also, the sopranos that are "flat" seem that way because of the dissonance. post a video of you and all your friends singing this song and the people who actually have ears to hear with and tact when listening to beauty can judge who really IS better.

[cgoverland69]

@JazzHalesBabyGurl I was being sarcastic (saying the opposite of what I really mean). Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

[viago2]

@cgoverland69 lol yes, i know, everyones a bloody expert. you forgot, the conductor has small balls and something about bieber.

[marcuslaughton]

truely sublime, the harmonies heavenly, the most moving piece of music ever to be written.

[Maghullian]

Lux Aurumque’ is a truly inspired piece of music with extremely complex harmonies and rich tones. Mesmorising in the extreme and never fails to deliver uncontrollable emotion

A true glimpse of heaven when heard in full

[aatu103]

love

[Bullfrog91]

Concordia College Choir is so much better.

[grover9559]

@Bullfrog91 Agreed, the Concordia Choir version is truly sublime. The soft harmonies are almost like a near-death experience.

[MorrisseyRT]

So appropriate on the Super Harvest Moon. Thank you. Absolutely perfect.

[Icyveins906]

I think we could have used more bass II and alto I, but the piece is so pretty that balance isn't a major factor. Thank you sopranos for not overkilling your notes thank you. Wonderful performance.

[elliot2500]

@ 00:55 c'est hyper dissonant mais tellement bon en même temps comme changement d'accord. Ce mec est vraiment trop bon. J'ai rarement vu ça.

From Belgium

[TeacupsandWindmills]

I think you step into a bit of a danger zone when you try to criticise the KCC choir... it sounds beautiful, and I'm sure Eric Whitacre would be proud of this. Obviously it's not going to sound as "flawless" when recorded in a chapel, but I'm sure if you could record it exactly the way it sounds to a person in that chapel it would be very hard to criticise. And the atmosphere in there must be incredible.

My dad went to King's Prep school, but he couldn't sing so he wasn't in the treble choir.

[MrMusicnerd123]

i think i know what dissonance is... you can clearly hear it is perfectly in tune in the polyphony recording.

[HellArcanine]

@MrMusicnerd123 Get off your damn high horse!!! A) This is a COLLEGE CHOIR. UNIVERSITY. Not proffessional adult! B) The polyphony recording which you speak so highly of is clearly done in a proffesional recording studio where everything can be brushed over and all mistakes repaired electronically.... whereas King's Choir is singing in their College Chapel where tone quality may be beautiful, but DIFFERENT. You can hear it if one of the singers has a COLD in that surrounding. So shut your trap.

[MrMusicnerd123]

@HellArcanine ahahaha calm down

[VlilV]

@HellArcanine Sorry, but this is technically a professional choir, but yh, i agree with what you say

[puremanliness]

Great attempt, it was great for the voices used. Whitacre wrote this for mixed choir, not all male.

There is a TTBB arrangement, and I'm sure it wouldn't sound as well as it could have if women sang it.

[VlilV]

@puremanliness mate, this a is a TrATB choir, singing the original setting

[kutlessdiv]

Theyre not going flat thats the way its written.

[meh00007]

ok.. those high notes weren't great lol my bad

[meh00007]

it wasn't flat. your just retarded. its called dissonance for a reason.

[musicman0209]

this is so awful. i almost didn't believe it was this choir singing because it was that terrible...

[ChristyCorruption]

@musicman0209- The song is compose with a lot of dissonance, it's very beautiful and they do it well. You're wrong.

[musicman0209]

@ChristyCorruption As MrMusicnerd123 commented above, "I think I know what dissonance is...you can clearly hear it is perfectly in tune in the polyphony recording"

[MrMusicnerd123]

no you are so right, this is really disappointing

[1LuvadaMovies]

huh. It is flat at the beginning. I thought my hearing was off or something. lol.

[MrMusicnerd123]

seriously, this is so FLAT at the beginning and the tempo is really rushed through rather than settling. the polyphony recording is in ANOTHER league

[MrMusicnerd123]

rubbish

[janeym]

now THIS is what I call choral singing

[TheMusicality]

i really like the dome, it fits the song perfectly

[Eurofrank1]

It isn´t a dome as such, but a long vaulted ceiling. Search here on you tube for "ezequielmercau" for more footage of the ceiling.

[Eurofrank1]

Eric must be very pleased with this recording. After all, it is arguably the best of all time!! The American choirs he works with are very good, too, but for atmosphere and vocal excellence combined, this is the one!!

[MrMusicnerd123]

clearly not..

[Slipjig9]

It almosy made me cry :'( so beautiful...

[IAmYou44]

FUCKING AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FR665XN]

I really like this. I heard it yesterday at 9 lessons and carols. What is the note the treble soloist is on? I think it's at 0.26, but it's not very clear whether it's a soloist or not on this recording.

[samuelhunterdotnet]

G# above the staff.

[FR665XN]

Thanks. It's hard to tell on this recording for some reason.

[E7TE]

I love how people can't watch a vid like this without playing the critic. This is a great piece and performance written and performed by people whose skills none of you douche bags will ever match.

[BeverlyZinTX]

I'm sure you didn't realize that what you said might offend. However, using that term at the end of your reply was, in my opinion, rude. If you accepted the terms and conditions on youtube, you would have known this, yes?

This performance by King's College was outstanding! You are absolutely right about that.

Blessings

[TheMusicality]

+ reputation to you !!!

[MrMusicnerd123]

@E7TE what happened to standards?

[sgabriel]

@E7TE Good point, although I believe douche-bags, in this case, should be hyphenated.

[johnbpullin1]

@E7TE Amen!

[theyvegonetoplaid]

Great song.

Eric Whitacre... a name I heard often at High School. I was a singer in the same school as him, although a number of years later. Extremely talented person. He did deserve to get expelled from the band though. Along with great talent often comes great hauteur. I won't go into what happened, but he deserved it.

But that doesn't take away any of his talent. He is a great musician, and a great composer.

[spiritdei]

Thanks so much for the background on Eric Whitacre theyvegonetoplaid. Perhaps we can take comfort from the fact that Mozart was a bit high-spirited, but his music remained sublime.

[vstltrk311]

It doesn't matter if its a live performance, a choir like this one shouldn't go sharp live or recorded.

[kentingtonallen]

I know it sounds quite cliche; but, it's true, no one does a procession like an Anglican! WOW!

[Josch617]

It is a outstanding performance to me. The choir fills with it's sound a grand chapel and I'm not that oppinion, that's a thin sound. And I disagree that the sopranos sounds sharp, for me it sounds more clear like a cristal.

I also heared the Concordia Choir. In both versions are specifics, which inspired me as conductor.

[kiltlvr]

This is a stunning performance. Haunting. Some of the comments here seem not to take into account that this is a live performance and hasn't been treated electronically. For that reason alone it is extraordinary.

[chalob90]

haha i feel the chord balances are a bit off. the boy sops stick out, they sound strident and thin and often sharp so the sound dosnt gel together. i dont think its a matter of

[paracletelux]

The best version I've heard is by Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum from the album "The Three Kings." This is very good as well. But I really wonder at the people saying a female soprano should sing this. No way. The fragility of a boy's voice is essential here.

[dgkl3]

If you listen to Concordia Choir, you get the beautiful and pure sound that the treble (female) voice can produce, which is more tone accurate than the male treble. Both are beautiful, it's a matter of personal preference.

[Smoldymort]

I Am a treble in the John Fisher school Chapel Choir and i loved this. Allthough i did think that the trebles did slide a bit too much. I can also sing Tenor but i prefer singing Treble and i was wondering if i could join this choir as well???

[conall1234]

the trebles on the Dsharp at the start are sharp, no?

[JazzHalesBabyGurl]

Nothing is more sweeter than an all boys choir. Whether it's a premature boys choir or a grown man's chioir, it doesn't matter. The pure voices are much prettier than an all girls choir. Which, being a girl, sounds hypocritical of me but it is true!

[biggtk]

I disagree. I think the young boys sound great, but for the ending soprano note that holds, it sounds much better with a female soprano. Well at least it does in my opinion. But this was one of the best versions of this song on youtube.

[ds1868]

Totally agree with JazzHalesBabyGurl. The purity of the treble voice is unmatched - the girls can't get anywhere near it. In any case, English tradition dictates a male choir, and this is King's College chum, no girls allowed in the choir here!

[nickermaker87]

I agree with you totally. The boys are fine, but it's not the same. There's something about female soprano.. it's richer somehow. I don't know.

[KakoiDedikuSan]

Umm, yeah - I think this is the best one!

[halfblack72]

eh it was okay...it usually takes a moment for their chords to fall into perfect harmony. check out the recording on the "cloudburst and other choral works" by Stephen Layton and Polyphony. its on itunes

[sneekyness101]

There's some second soprano who really stands out. She's a bit too bright and nasally.

[macgenius14]

boy soprano*

[nickermaker87]

Cuz it's a little boy..

[tyty0blake]

this kinda made me cry a little bit lol.

[avsalon]

wow MARVELOUS  best performance ever..

[ds1868]

Superb. You won't be able to better this. Thanks for posting!

[christoperfect]

Glorious.

Heartbreakingly beautiful.

[vgiangvian]

perfection

[OrcSlayer07]

University of Delaware has a great recording of this, I recommend it!

[choirboy526]

angelic

[simondavies535]

this is stunning.

[pjdonagh]

A perfect choice for the King's 9 Lessons etc. where atmosphere is so vitally important. This piece simply oozes atmosphere.

Thank you for uploading this (and the rest of this years music)!!

[spiritdei]

You're welcome!

[SergeantTroy]

I can't find a nicer version on Youtube. Those voices are angelic.

[choirboy526]

heavenly