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From Eric Whitacre
August 15, 2011
I cannot begin to tell you what an incredible thrill the Carnegie concert was for me. From the first notes that we sang in rehearsal I knew that we had assembled an extraordinary group of singers, but I wasn't remotely prepared for the magic we created on stage the night of the performance. Every ounce of passion and dedication from each and every one of you went into that night, and I think it created a tangible, visceral experience for the audience. (I must have heard the word 'electrifying' a hundred times from audience members trying to describe the performance to me). As the proud conductor of the piece, I want to thank you for your flexibility: new pages of music a week before you arrived (even some new notes during rehearsal!); crazy combinations of audio monitors, both in rehearsal and in Carnegie; preparing the piece in strange clips and pieces, never really knowing what the entire thing would sound like until just a few hours before the performance. You handled all of it with great cheer and professional attitudes. As the humble composer of the piece, I can only say: thank you, thank you, thank you. I've worked so hard and so long on this thing that I often forgot what I was making, only that I seemed to be stacking brick after endless brick into some sort of pile, hoping that it would look like something when I was finished. You brought it to life, turned the bricks into a fortress, a tribe, wings; I am forever grateful to all of you for showing me the way. It looks like we will be doing it all again next year in Los Angeles in June. I for one can't wait to show the world what we've made, and if you are so inclined, I'd be honored to have you with me again. There were some ridiculous things in that New York Times review ("a younger, hipper Andrew Lloyd Webber" - whatever) but the one thing I did agree with was that I could do a lot more with the magnificent chorus. So I'll write another 6-10 minutes of choral music for the next year's performances, all of it inspired by the extraordinary sounds you were making. (I still think that chord that we discovered in the Act I Finale opening is an entire piece all by itself). And next year we will semi-stage the soloists, and some of the chorus. If any of you saw the San Francisco Symphony/New York Opera production of Sweeney Todd, we're going to shoot for something like that. Maybe even some actual fight scenes. I don't know what will happen with the show in the future. Broadway? Hopefully. Video game? Yes please. Album, most certainly. What I do know is that for one glorious night in June, we all stood on stage together at Carnegie Frickin' Hall and rocked the factis world. I'll never forget it, or you.
Much love, Eric
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Angels,
