Eric Whitacre Virtual Choir Lux Aurumque

12 Countries:
Austria
Argentina
Canada
Germany
Ireland
New Zealand
The Philippines

Singapore
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States of America

St. Johns Telegram:

Here’s how his virtual choir works.

(American) Whitacre posted a video online of himself conducting one of his own works – in this case, “Lux Aurumque” – with a simple piano accompaniment. Choristers were invited to obtain the sheet music and record themselves singing their individual part in front of a webcam, following his cues on screen and listening to the piano in earphones.

With technical assistance, Whitacre gathered the posted video responses and mixed the audio into an a cappella performance of his work. For extra effect, his producer created a video collage featuring Whitacre and his singers performing on a virtual stage. The immediate effect is quite striking.

….here, you’ll see a real choir in full flight, weaving and ducking in formation like a flock of starlings. It is the ultimate in social networking, live and in Technicolor.

It may seem curmudgeonly to curse the prevalence of online interaction. It has, after all, opened new doors for people who can’t otherwise connect in person for any variety of reasons.

But I think the medium is actually replacing true interaction in many lives. Alienation is the cause of so many troubles in society, from depression to crime to a lack of civic pride. Not to mention obesity and a lack of motivation.

It’s difficult to predict where this phenomenon is headed. What I do know, however, is that an evening with roast beef, fine wine and good friends is infinitely more satisfying than a night perched in front of a video linkup.

English translation

Light, Light
Light, Light
Light, Light
Warm
Warm
and heavy/loaded/pregnant/deep/dignified*
and heavy/loaded/pregnant/deep/dignified*
and heavy/loaded/pregnant/deep/dignified*
Pure
Pure as if gold
(They) sing/prophesy and (they) sing/prophesy and (they) sing/prophesy.
*’Gravis que’ is actually written and said as one word, Gravisque, meaning “and [definition]. There are so many words listed because it actually means all of those, in a poetic sense that is difficult to capture in one word in English.