Sleep (Whitacre)

Sleep is a composition for a cappella choir by Eric Whitacre, with lyrics by Charles Anthony Silvestri. He composed it in 2000, setting a poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. When the lyrics were found still under copyright, Whitacre won Silvestri to write new lyrics to the existing music.

History

In 1999,[1] attorney and professional vocalist Julia Armstrong commissioned Whitacre to compose a choral composition as a memorial to her parents.[2][3] She suggested the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" that Robert Frost had published[2] in 1923, and wanted the work to be premiered by the 16-voice choral ensemble Austin ProChorus in Austin, Texas, being a member of the group.[3] Whitacre set the composition for eight parts (SSAATTBB),[1] and it was premiered by the choir[4] in October 2000.[1]

After the work was performed also by The Concordia Choir, conducted by René Clausen, and at the 2001 national convention of the American Choral Directors Association,[1] Whitacre learned that the Frost poem was still under U.S. copyright, and he could not publish the work before the copyright expired in 2038,[2] without the consent of the Frost literary estate, which refused to grant permission.[3] Rather than giving up publishing the work, Whitacre asked poet and frequent collaborator Charles Anthony Silvestri (b. 1965) to write a new text which would correspond to the meter of the Frost poem and to the expressive details Whitacre had emphasized in the music.[3] The next day Silvestri offered the poem "Sleep", taking up the theme of sleep from the last stanza of Frost's poem.[1][2] Whitacre has stated that he prefers the Silvestri text over the original.[2]

Whitacre selected the piece for his "virtual choir" project in 2010, in which videos submitted by hundreds of volunteer singers were combined to produce a video representation of a combined performance.[1]

Performances, recordings and arrangements

The work appears on Whitacre's 2010 album Light and Gold, his first album for Decca, and the first he conducted himself, are group called the Whitacre Singers.[5] It was recorded by Polyphony conducted by Stephen Layton in a collection of choral works by Whitacre in 2005.[6][7]

Sleep has also been arranged for concert band[8][9] and string orchestra.

References
  1. Whitacre, Eric. "Sleep". Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  2. L.O. (June 24, 2011). "The Q&A: Eric Whitacre, composer (interview)". The Economist. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  3. Burns, Alex (April 19, 2002). "Eric Whitacre: Sleep". classicalexburns.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  4. Faires, Robert (April 19, 2002). "Articulations". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  5. "The Q&A: Eric Whitacre, composer (interview)". broadwayworld.com. June 24, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  6. Quinn, John (March 2006). "Sleep by Eric Whitacre". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  7. Seymour, Claire (May 17, 2019). "Is there Genuine Substance Behind the 'Eric Whitacre Inc.' Phenomenon?". seenandheard-international.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  8. Milne, Christopher John (2017). "Recreation and Redefinition: An examination of the transcription and evolution of a cappella choral works transcribed for Wind Band" (PDF). api.research-repository.uwa.edu.au (Thesis). Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  9. Pease, Andy (November 24, 2010). "Sleep by Eric Whitacre". windliterature.org. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
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