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From: vocalessence
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  • performed this with my college choir, and here I am looking it up on youtube just to hear again. I would say that counts and being an AWESOME piece of music.

  • Bravo rinascimento e modernità in unica composizione.

  • My choir group is singing this. It's a huge challenge to learn but I can't wait to perform it. It's beautiful.

  • the first time they sing "machine" I just had to smile :) don't know why, but in the exact same moment Eric started to smile too :D just awesome

  • Teacher handed this to us today, we are a non select 9-12 choir. Challenge Accepted!

  • Santa Clara Vanguard 2012 :)

  • @BariBango Really?!?!?!

  • @BariBango It is my advice to you to not talk about shows until they are announced

  • @limegut This is one of two pieces that have been announced. It was announced on their official Facebook page on December 29, 2011 at 4:02 pm. I can understand asking someone not to announce the entire show when it has not yet been publicly announced yet, but telling someone not to announce a piece that the corps announced is not quite fair. That being said, with this and Mackey's "Hymn to a Blue Hour" being two of the assumed four parts announced ... it's going to be a great year for SCV!

  • I promise you, I cannot play Assassin's Creed II or Brotherhood without thinking of this song every time Leonardo shows up. Especially while using the flying machine.

  • Definitely hearing Gesualdo influence in this. Oh how I ADORE Eric Whitacre. :-D

  • My chorus is singing this for our spring concert, it's probably the greatest decision my teacher has ever made.

  • I really want to sing this song at some point in my life.

  • The 5 people who disliked this have no clue what good music is. Or they may not have heard of Leonardo DaVinci. Or airplanes...

  • Eric Whitacre= What Billy Ray Cyrus looks like

  • He is such a fun conductor to watch.

  • Start at 2:24... "Feelin' it, consonants; feel the words...uh uh uh!! *hair swoosh*" love it.

  • @lightman369

    LMFAO that's beautiful! xD

  • listen to "O vos omnes" by gesualdo and "As vesta was from latmos hill" by walker i think. simliar musical structures in places, but they still can't compare to this modern masterpiece!

  • For his last high school residency, he came to our school! I thought he might be one of those guys who acts like a douche because he let the fame get to his head.

    Boy, was I wrong!

    He was great! Very charismatic and fun to be around. Plus, while everyone was getting on the risers during rehersal, he started playing Axel F on the piano. It was great!

  • @Theatrefreak7 I was there! I loved when he started to play Freebird during the dress rehearsal!

  • I want to meet him. I want to be in a choir he conducts before I die.

  • everyone, even people with lung problems, should be able to enjoy this heavenly music. that's just uppity of you.

  • OMG why is the note in 6:12 / 6:13 so amazing? I mean all the notes, every single one, is just so great, but every time I listen to this I never miss that note. It's just so good!

  • I LIKE IT

    Thats genious

  • i thought eric himself would've preferred more nudge on those suspensions.

  • Had to stop the car to listen to this on my CD. Then it got better! Amazing!

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  • this is like the best version of this song being sang on YOUTUBE, probably cuz Whitacre is directing it himself!

  • A-MA-ZING!!!!

    Shivers everywhere!!

    I miss the old 5 stars...

  • @TriggerHappy- Yes Ohio :) it was great. a fantastic end to my last high school choir concert.

  • I would love to be part of a choir singing this. Such a beautiful song.

  • can anyone identify the chord at 6:03? lol

  • @qbblitza Knowing his composition style, it's definitely a cluster chord of some sort. I wouldn't be surprised if it is a 9 or an 11.

  • @tthomas292 ..exactly what i was thinking. Except unlike a cluster chord of whole steps which he seems to use a lot, it's all half steps! Awesome effect...

  • @qbblitza The chord is Hmdim13 duh

  • does anyone else think Eric kind of looks like Sawyer from Lost?

  • @Melloverture Wow, cannot unsee now. O.o

  • Eric. 2:24 to 2:36. Love.

  • I loved the flying section the most starting I think around 5 minutes. Wow. Stunning. Just stunning.

  • Listening now - I love this piece. Love the "One by One" section especially. But I love the whole Dream concept.

  • It's true; he DOES have amazing hair!

  • the female soloist is AWESOME!

  • @shoot100strait - Oh Yeah - This is JUST a brilliant piece. I LOVED this piece - I was almost in tears -not grief- at the end. Brilliant Brilliant. Loved it. Can't say enough. Thanks for sending me this. I will post to FB.

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  • I saw a comment that said voices stuck out... One reason for that would be all of the separate parts that eric writes in. He has gotten up to 18 part harmonies, so it wouldn't be too crazy if they have 2 guys/girls on some parts.

  • another school sang this at a choir competition we held in my town... I was floored. most amazing piece I have ever heard. I am forever jealous i didn't get to sing it. why is he SO AMAZING?!

  • 3 people have no musical taste

  • @rtjello25 - or perhaps, out of 510 people, three of them are trolls ;)

  • our symphonic choir at marysville high school is doing this song tonight for our spring concert. can't wait!

  • i cant keep in time with his jumping around

  • Curtis High School A'Capella choir sang this for contest and we recieved a 1+. This song is amazing, I'm surprised we learned this song in 3 weeks. The chords are intimidating, but surprisingly easy to learn. It's a beautiful song. <3

  • Wanting to listen to this song, I googled it and found this link. It was more than I could have dreamed of. I was not expecting to see Eric Whitacre conducting one of my favorite songs of his. I'm literally still in tears, goosebumps on my skin, over this indescribable performance. For lack of better words (due to my mind being blown still), I LOVED IT!

  • the "one by one" part is my favorite, because it starts with the sopranos, then altos, tenors, and then bass... coming in one by one. ahhh, how wonderful music is :) lol

  • He is the most physically expressive conductor I've ever seen. It's beautiful.

  • i finally figured out the chord!! Its so awesome

    

  • Why. Just WHY people always cough on the silent parts? It's like they are waiting for the silent moment just so they can ruin it. JUST DO IT WHEN THEY SING LOUD.

    I mean holy shit, it's not that hard to hold it for five seconds. GEEZ

  • @Ztychar how true!!!! it happens all the times during our concerts  :D

  • The BASS. Good GOD they sound so great.

  • I like how he conducts like he's flying at 7:05. It fits very well with the piece.

  • Eric Whitacre is a genius. Enough said.

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  • Heard this recently in the car and had to favorite it on here.... stupid man had to cough and ruin the mood...

  • like score "a boy and a Girl?

  • I am fast becoming a fan of Mr Whitacre

  • I once heard someone criticize Whitacre for writing only moving block chords with no true polyphony. I wish they could hear this piece from 3:27 to 4:00. Amazing.

  • One perseon's hand must have slipped and accidently hit the dislike button at that chord at 6:06...

  • welchem musikhost gefällt das bitte nicht?????

    ahhhhh genie genie genie :D

  • I actually have a friend named Leonardo (we call him Lee) and he made 2:02 his ringtone.

  • my favorite part is 6:12 i can't help bouncing up and down

    ahh i love this. i love you eric whitacre!!

  • We're singing this in the Chorale at Dallas Baptist University. It's such an amazing piece to be a part of. Breathtaking.

  • So, there's a discrepancy over notes, is there? Not gonna lie. If I were in a college choir (or another professional one like I am) and I heard VocalEssance sing something that sounded different (note wise) than what I was doing, I would bet that VocalEssence was right...especially when they were singing it with Eric Whitacre conducting. I mean...come on.

  • 2:28 perfect =)...The man...and the music, of course.

  • I friggin love Eric Whitacre...his music is just amazing!!! Watching him jump while directing just shows how much he gets into music!

  • i love the baroque-ish texture and harmony of this song :P it's so interesting

  • OMG search up Burbank In Sync singing this song, they only do like almost the first 2 minutes but what they do of it is amazing!

  • Bambambritt, if you notice the description under the video is says CHORAL SUPERSTAR Eric Whitacre.....i've never heard of bambambrit the choral superstar only because you aren't one? oh yeah that's right. why don't you leave the music up to him and if you can't sing it like they are then YOU aren't singing it right honey.

  • Umm im sorry for you, Bambambritt, because if your choir is not singing what they are, then you are doing it wrong. and this sound quality is very good besides the coughing this recording is very well done, and since it is a live performance the coughing is nearly unavoidable. Very well done Eric Whitacre your music is astounding.

  • Ummm, I'm sorry but considering my college choir is performing this piece tomorrow. And we just saw Coordia College perform this. But either we and they are not singing some notes correctly. Or the sound quality of this camera sucks. I hope it's the latter.

  • @bambambritt Umm im sorry for you, Bambambritt, because if your choir is not singing what they are, then you are doing it wrong. and this sound quality is very good besides the coughing this recording is very well done, and since it is a live performance the coughing is nearly unavoidable. Very well done Eric Whitacre your music is astounding.

  • @tenorman191 Hmm well I guess the other 4 University choirs, and the well known Coordia college choir that I've seen do this song, as well as our choir our all singing the wrong notes. But since that's an unlikely scenario, then I'll go with the sound quality of the camera. The song is beautiful, this recording is not.

  • @bambambritt i have listened to this trying to find a spot where their notes are incorrect or different in any way i have ever heard it, and looking at the music, and i have yet to find any difference, the recording quality itself is not ideal but still better than most youtube videos. and considering i have never heard of your college and there is nothing of them singing on youtube, i have a hard time using you as an accreditation.

  • He is so damn hot.

  • Why are there people coughing! DAMMIT

  • I sang this song over the summer. I can't sing the tenor part out loud because of were I am, but just singing inside my head still brings a tear to the corner of my eye.

  • There should be a person with a tranquilizer gun in the rafters of every musical performance. If you cough, you Sleep. (No pun intended).

  • @pickleboy01 xD Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Not nearly enough exclamation points, but....they will have to do. :D)

  • @pickleboy01 not a tranquilizer gun, a rifle. If you have throat or lung problems, why would you go to a music concert? Yet I suspect these people do not have throat or lung problems, they are just trying to spoil the concert for other people.

  • Eric Whitacre is a genius.

  • Is it just me, or does Eric Whitacre look a lot like Viggo Mortensen?

  • whoever disliked this is an idiot to the fullest extent.

  • @AllwaysAriose I sang this song as a highschooler. It is a little pretentious, but doable. Takes a ton of work.

  • my chorus class was talking about this song, thought i'd check it out :) its so cool. were only highschoolers so we cant perform this song but we are doing the seal lullaby c:

  • fantastic performance and choir!

  • we just sang this with UT Martin. we were not near as good. but something about singing this song brings me joy.

  • eric whitacre hat vllt ien fach mal toal ahnung von toller musik :D

    haaa ich hab gänsehaut <3333

  • that air... i miss it during a concert by ust...

  • 1 person thought it said, "Dis I like."

  • it's as if he's conducting a cd

  • I couldn't help but giggle at 0:29 :)

  • Is there a longer song in existence (not counting symphonies with multiple movements which span like 40 minutes)? This is so cool!

  • @Icyveins906 Yes his song When David Heard is about 15 mins long.

  • WOW! This song is so amazing! Especially at 6:30 and on you can visualize the machine starting to turn on and begin it's flight and it's just so...just amazing! Eric Whitacre is a musical genius!

  • absolutely beautiful....stunning...

  • Now THIS we should do a virtual choir with.

  • This music is AMAZING.

    I'm Brazilian and i sing in a big choir here, at Rio de Janeiro (São Vicente A Capella).

    For me is awesome to watch a masterpiece like that. BRAVO!

  • LOVE the part at 6:50

  • I love how every note and every phrase is delivered flawlessly! Oh!! J'adore!!

  • Yes, this is lovely...but just try singing it!! It really takes the breath outta ya.

  • So happy he literally starts bouncing.

    This scrub must like music a little more then society says he should.

  • There's some music in Doctor Who that reminds me of this song starting around 2:00. Every time I hear it, I get an urge to listen to this. I absolutely love Eric Whitacre. He's definitely my favorite contemporary composer.

  • omg the conductor looks like Sawyer on LOST...

    okay fangirling aside, this is beautiful music! I wish my choir would sing something like this.

  • This is amazing, but i can't help but notice that vowels are a problem almost half the time.. other than that it is, again, amazing :)

  • harmony 

  • imma bird!! 7:07

  • EPIC.

  • burbank high school's choir, n'sync sang this song in their show last year and i think they actually sang it better than the epople eric whitacre chose to sing it. look up burbank and see for yourself.

  • @renkupmiba From a fellow SoCal, choir kid, your performance of this song was amazing! As was this performance ^ Basically ths song is just phenomenal!

  • @renkupmiba thats a lie. So many people stuck out, and they were yelling. It's almost impossible to achieve such an incredible blend with this few people and on this difficult a song.

  • this is probably the greatest chorale piece i've ever heard

  • dear god, this was magnificant

  • This had to be one of the most challenging pieces of music I have ever performed.

  • why is there always someone in the audience hacking up a hairball? ugh.

    gorgeous piece. sang it last year.

  • I've decided my dreams in life are to be in a choir that Eric Whitacre conducts and to sing the chord at 6:06.

  • The ONE person who disliked this has to be spawn of Satan.

  • Yes! It's incredible!

  • The intensity of their expressions as well as their attention to the director is amazing! I'm only in a high school choir but I've seen similar expressions on some of my group's faces, yet they were nothing compared to this! We have the potential to be good, but I doubt we could be as amazing as this...You produce a beautiful and intentional sound; your voices dance with the music, I love it! Two thumbs up! I'd give more, but I only have two :(

  • 1 person didn't get accepted into VocalEssence.

  • How is it possible for a man to be both amazingly talented and have hair THAT amazing??

  • Dude's got nice hair

  • THE TRANSITION AT 7:05 MAKES ME SO FUCKING HAPPY WHEN I LISTEN TO IT!

    Just saying

  • simply amazing, and inspiring to every young musician out there. this is the kind of music that makes all the hard work worth it to be a musician.

  • Only a few weeks a go I had never head of Eric Whitacre, now I am loving his work - what a talent!

  • This music inspires hope for humanity.

  • if only those sopranos would shut the hell up

  • I love the word painting....

  • OMG the "one by one" section from 3:26 to 4:00 is like an eargasm in heaven. Whitacre somehow has the talent to make my heart (and every other musician) soar with every high soprano run. love love LOVE this

  • This song is so amazing! Eric Whitacre is me hero!! The literature is great. Does anyone have the lyrics??

  • I love watching good music like this.

    It breathes life into music and humanity. <3

  • @RoseOnYourNose You would love opera.

  • OMG the chord at 6:06

  • @streeterburton for real.

  • @streeterburton Think VE is gonna be able to pull it of? hahahh. This is dan btw :P

  • @singerguy93 pshhhhhhhhhh we got this ;D

  • @streeterburton that chord is so so so so so hard to hold your part on...it's like your mind is going 'RESOLVE RESOLVE RESOLVE RESOLVE RESOLVE RESOLVE'

  • @imabigbrat15 hahaha yeahh it took a few tries to finally get it right. The select choir at my school is doing it. Suchh a fun song to sing!

  • @streeterburton haha agreed! and mine did it too, we sang it on our tour. :)

  • @streeterburton

    Goose bumps EVERY time

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  • 4:50 - 5:00 is my favorite part of watching Eric in this piece. You can see how into it he is.

  • I love this song!! :D

    You should check out Burbank InSync (A Show Choir) singing this song, about 60 high schoolers sing close to the first 2 minutes of this song, and to think of high schoolers doing this, after dancing a very intricate tiring dance then singing something like this is amazing, they would be out of breath, but they are amazing and sound fantastic!! You should really watch them, and later in their set they do a little bit of Cloudburst also!! :D

  • lmfao 2:26 - 2:32 got to love Eric! amazing song

  • What an amazing piece!

  • This was so fantastically done! Eric Whitacre was here in Iowa for a music conference, directing this piece, along with a few others. He is incredible, and seems "super-human," but when you meet him--and how he laughs, talks...and pushes his hair aside--haha...he's just like any of us, but with an incredible gift that he's sharing with millions!

  • @rebeccaharper2009 That was a fantastic little performance. I met him backstage afterward and he was so nice.

  • 7:06 - 7:11 = Just another example of how incredibly cool Eric is. Such an awesome guy.

  • Absolutely great. What a fun treat to be conducted by the composer.

  • Lyrics can be found on his homepage!

  • I wish I had the lyrics. :(

  • This is one kind of music that people won't ruin for the sake of money. Pure music, simply fantastic.

  • wow.......incredible!!!!!!!!!

  • sang this 5 years ago in my senior year of high school..loved it..its such an amazing piece....the disonnant notes all clashing together sound so beautiful...it makes me wish I was still singing in a choir...

  • oh wow. this is incredibly impressive!!! i am performing this song this summer and it is positively stunning ... i love how the mood is constantly changing!!!! BRILLIANT!

  • This is definitely the best version of this song I've heard! My high school director is singing this in a vocal conference this summer that will be conducted by Eric Whitacre. I'm really excited to see him and his wonderful work!

  • yeah i think the fingers thing is supposed to be an instruction to 'melt' one word into the next..very effective gesture actually!

  • Anyone know the intent behind Erics finger thing...that he does...when hes conducting?

    Does it mean sing clearer because youre mumbling the words or something?

  • @1037pm Usually that means to mush the words together for effect, not to use less annunciation but to kind of push them together. Its hard to explain when not in person

  • @paramom55 Okay, I understand the effect you're referring to. Makes sense, thanks :)

  • no haha! it was PHS

  • We sang this song in our high school chamber choir last year. Its the most amazing rush to sing. We miss it very much. It was probably our most challenging piece that year and mastering it was thrilling. My favorite part is the flight.

    This choir did an amazing job and are infinitely lucky to be working with the composer himself. The tone, blend, accuracy, everything is awesome!

  • The older and better choir at the high school came to my choir class and sang this song for us. Once I heard it i was in awh! I love this song very much!

  • @MUSTASHS Oh, was the Fremont that came to your Jr. High? If so that was my chamber choir :) Fremont always does a fantastic job! We have the best teacher. I'm so lucky to be in an area with such a great choir program!

  • this song is so awesome

  • I think what makes this song so amazing is the fact that he tells the story with his notes. Lots of people just look for cool chords and he took the time to put every single note down in its specific spot to make a meaning. I can see it happening in my head and its amazing. One of his absolute best songs.

  • @surfinyoutubin Yup. I call it "word painting."  It just fits.

  • my choir is doing this song on wednesday! i love this piece so much!

  • My gosh I LOVE Eric Whitacre!! We've sung quite a few of his compositions in Leland HS's choir, but this one is my favorite!!

  • I had the hardest time trying out on this for All-State, it was a night mare to learn! But it sounded great later on.