Sleep By Eric Whitacre
Leanna Perr
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 enlisted Silvestri to write new lyrics to the existing music.
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 Ren 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,[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 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]
Whitacre originally believed the Frost poem's copyright would not expire until 2038;[2][3] it in fact expired on 1 January 2019.[1] Whitacre has stated that he does not plan to release the work with the original text.[1]
The work appears on Whitacre's 2010 album Light and Gold, his first album for Decca and the first he conducted himself, performed by a group called the Whitacre Singers.[5] Sleep was also recorded in collaboration with Whitacre in 2001 by the BYU Singers and was included in a 2005 collection of choral works by Whitacre performed by Polyphony and conducted by Stephen Layton.[6][7][8]
This song is actually about the final moments in waking life, before slipping into sleep and never waking up again.The lyrics were originally "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. But copyright came into place so they made new lyrics.The song was written for a woman who also sings Soprano in the choir that performed the recording, who's parents died within days of eachother.The lyrics symbolize fear, comfort, and the feeling of not knowing what comes after death.
Macaluley is correct, its about the moment right before you die, about "sleeping" and "surrendering to sleep."This song is painfully beautiful, as are many of eric whitacre's composition.It's so beautiful, it makes you choke.
What an absolutely gorgeous song. We dedicated this song to my recently retired choral director's son, who died because of epilepsy. By the end of it, there was not one dry eye in the chorus or in the audience. It's such a powerful and beautiful song... I really want to perform it again. Macauley is right, it's about submitting to a sleep that you won't wake from.
As with all of Whitacre's compositions, each chord, each beat even, have so much emotion behind it. The way he uses discords and dissonance fits each word and phrase as a whole. The psychological and physical aspects of trying to fall asleep (in the most literal sense) when you can't is shown through the chords and reflected in the words. The climax, and building to it, for example, have the floodgates opened in the music and voices, but also can be as in one's mind as they begin to dream:
Another good example of this emotional composition is from "When David Heard," a song based from the Bible in 2 Samuel when King David's son, Absalom, dies. You can almost feel the grief and anguish, sorrow and agony and utter discomfort building within David's head, until it bursts out with remorse. All of this is underlined in the tone and stress of each and everyone of these beautifully coordinated chords.
This poem from Charles Anthony Silvestri was actually written about his son who could not fall asleep one night. It was written after the piece was written by Whitacre, so Silvestri had to write the words to fit the song. When writing, he did not think not think about how it could be interpreted as slipping from life to death, but after he heard it sung, he admits it could work either way.
"Sleep" by Eric Whiteacre is just wonderful! The arrangement of chords is so moving and creates a feeling of peace and tranquility with ones inner feeling and towards others. A brilliant piece and peace let us all find it.Hornblower
64591212e2