Cover: Radiance by Simon Cook (b1954)
Hyperion CDA67543 · February 2006
Whitacre - Cloudburst & other choral works
Polyphony, Stephen Layton (conductor)
- GRAMMY NOMINATION (CHORAL CATEGORY)
- NATALIE WHEEN'S BEST OF 2006 (CLASSIC FM)
Press
The Rochester City News2006For months I've been driving around entranced, listening to Cloudburst, a stunning CD from British choral group Polyphony. All of the songs on the disc are by 30 something American composer Eric Whitacre, who has a way of…Read the review - Encore USA2006A lifetime of listening to choral music had not prepared me for such lush harmonies-a cappella voices perfectly tuned and blended. This was my first encounter with Polyphony, possibly the best small (25 or so) professional chorus…Read the review
BBC Radio 32006Right. Stop making the coffee: leave the washing for two minutes, muzzle your children, pull over to the side of the road and listen to this. Whitacre, I thank You God This is the music of Eric Whitacre and if you haven’t heard…Read the review - The Chicago Tribune2006Composer Eric Whitacre's new Hyperion release marks a most enjoyable collection of his works for (mostly) unaccompanied chorus. Whitacre's overnight rise to becoming one of America's most successful choral composers is nothing if…Read the review
Music Web International2006Last year Stephen Layton and Polyphony gave us a very fine CD devoted to the music of the American composer, Morten Lauridsen (b.1943) Now they follow that up with a programme of music by another, younger American composer, Eric…Read the review 
ClassicsToday.com2006You hear about huge advance orders for the latest CD by the biggest, hottest pop superstar, or for the most fashionably hip tell-all book--but when the buzz is about a CD of classical choral music? Yes, there have been big…Read the review 
The Times2006Read the review 
Classic FM Magazine2006Read the review 
BBC Music Magazine2006Read the review 
Gramophone Magazine2006This beautifully performed and recorded CD contains the bulk of Whitacre's choral canon and displays his delicate yet vital approach to writing for voices. I guess if you like Tavener (or Pärt, who is strongly evoked in David)…Read the review 
International Record Review2006I would certainly urge anyone with a love of choral singing to buy this disc, not merely to sample this atmospheric sound-world but to luxuriate in the gorgeous choral tone of PolyphonyRead the review 
The Independent on Sunday2006Ethereal and chillingly beautiful choral works - an intense and moving aural experienceRead the review 
Fanfare USA2006Whitacre has experienced enormous success recently, writing choral and wind ensemble music. It's not hard to see why, from this impeccably performed collection' 'A sign that the 36-year-old American choral composer Eric Whitacre…Read the review 
Cathedral Music2006This is one of the most exciting discs to come onto the market... The whole experience is simply stunning. The precise and secure tuning of Layton's group, with effective, elegant phrasing and ensemble makes this more than a…Read the review 
ClassicsTodayFrance.com2006Il y a des disques dont on n'attend rien et qui nous donnent tous! Eric Whitacre se spécialise dans la composition chorale. Et il a trouvé le bon filon....Read the review - The Daily Express2006Whitacre creates magical compositions that are stunning in their power. A beautiful albumRead the review
Opera News, New York2006Theirs [Polyphony] is the sort of virtuosity that calls no attention to itself but unfolds the music with a spontaneous, ongoing sense of discoveryRead the review 
CNN News2006This one is in the We Told You So Department. American composer Eric Whitacre in his mid-30s, is, with the estimable Morten Lauridsen, a part of a growing bounty of choral exploration and development frequently now being…Read the review
Recorded: January 2005
Produced by Adrian Peacock
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: February 2006
Total duration: 70 minutes 43 seconds
Track list
- i thank You God for most this amazing day (No 3 of Three Songs of Praise)Eric Whitacre (b1970)6'05
- I hide myself (No 1 of Three Flower Songs)Eric Whitacre (b1970)2'51
- Sleep The evening hangs beneath the moonEric Whitacre (b1970)5'33
- i will wade out (No 1 of Three Songs of Praise)Eric Whitacre (b1970)2'45
- Go, lovely Rose (No 3 of Three Flower Songs)Eric Whitacre (b1970)4'07
- When David heardEric Whitacre (b1970)12'57
- hope, faith, life, love (No 2 of Three Songs of Praise)Eric Whitacre (b1970)3'50
- Cloudburst La lluvia … Ojos de agua de sombraEric Whitacre (b1970)8'25
- With a lily in your hand O my night love! (No 2 of Three Flower Songs)Eric Whitacre (b1970)2'27
- This Marriage May these vows and this marriage be blessedEric Whitacre (b1970)2'59
- Water Night Night with the eyes of a horse that trembles in the nightEric Whitacre (b1970)5'03
- A boy and a girl Stretched out on the grassEric Whitacre (b1970)4'25
- Her sacred spirit soarsEric Whitacre (b1970)5'08
- Lux aurumque Lux, calida gravisque, pura velut aurumEric Whitacre (b1970)4'08
Recording details from Hyperion Records.