FW - Eric Whitacre's "A Boy and a Girl"

Many people do not understand the power that exists in classical style music. I often feel privileged that I am moved by so many orchestral or choral works that have been written in a somewhat classical style. This entry is going to be my a reflection of my fondness for the choral a capella works of Eric Whitacre, namely A Boy and A Girl.


Eric Whitacre is an American composer born in 1970, and has published a number of different choral and orchestral pieces. In fact, one of his choral albums features our very own BYU Singers. He has also recently premiered his first opera, Paradise Lost, to great critical acclaim. His use of chord clusters and silence in his music draws in the listener for an experience that, while in a choral style, is brand new and fresh. All this might sound incredibly pallid to the average reader, but the musical style in which Eric composes is anything but lacking in color.

The piece that I am so moved by at the moment, A Boy and A Girl, is one of Whitacre's pieces that we are performing in BYU Singers this year. This is the poem by Octavio Paz, translated by Muriel Rukeyser:

Stretched out on the grass
a boy and a girl.
Savoring their oranges, giving their kisses
like waves exchanging foam.

Stretched out on the beach
a boy and a girl.
Savoring their limes, giving their kisses
like clouds exchanging foam.

Stretched out underground
a boy and a girl.
Saying nothing, never kissing,
giving silence for silence.

The poetry is exquisite and somewhat heart-wrenching, complete in its own power without the aid of any musical support. Eric, however, has the talent of not only writing music, but of writing emotion. The last verse is sung in almost the same harmony as the other verses, but much, much softer. It's sung almost as if the choir were singing only loud enough to be felt, but not quite loud enough to wake the two slumbering lovers. The joy expressed in the words "kissing" in the first two verses is sadly, wistfully, and painfully resung in the last verse; the singers and listeners can almost hear a sweet, pained cry in the music, almost a wail, as the two lovers' inability to be once again with each other is painted in sound.

A Boy and A Girl is an exquisite masterpiece that, unfortunately, cannot be described in writing. The appreciation due to the piece can only be found by listening to the music and experiencing the soul of Whitacre's work. And where would a better place be to experience Whitacre's music than here on the BYU campus? And with what better choir should you experience the music than the choir already used to record so many of Whitacre's earlier pieces?

A Boy and A Girl will be performed on Friday and Saturday, September 28 and 29, in the Provo Tabernacle by the Brigham Young University Singers as part of the annual Choral Showcase. A wide variety of choral works will be sung (from the ridiculous to the sublime), showing the versatility and the ability of the different choral groups on campus. Personally, I would go if only to listen to a few of the choral pieces of Eric Whitacre. It will be an experience not soon forgotten.


Edit: Since I published the post, I have been told that we will not be performing any Whitacre pieces at the concert. Well, there goes all of that rhetoric.

;-)