Last summer I finally decided to listen to some of Eric Whitacre's music, having seen his name in related video lists on YouTube for ages. The first one I listened to was Alleluia, and as this breathtaking sound filled my ears I quickly decided to tune out all distractions and only focus on what I was hearing. I instantly knew two things: 1) I really wanted to sing this piece, and 2) I didn't want to just sing it...I wanted to direct it. Thus began my love for Eric Whitacre's absolutely glorious music, and my dream of becoming a choral director. I'm now a Music Education major in college, so chances are pretty good that some day I'll get to sing and/or direct this piece. (UMobile's choir sang Whitacre's Lux Aurumque for their Christmas program a couple of months ago, and that was an unforgettable experience that I'll be blogging about soon.)
Alleluia is over 9 minutes long (yes, seriously!), but if you can, put headphones on and close your eyes as you listen to it. If the music in heaven doesn't sound like this, I'm gonna be surprised. :)
(Interesting side note: Whitacre also wrote a version of this piece for concert band called October; in fact, October came first--he based Alleluia off of it!)
