Eric Whitacre: Complete Recordings on Spotify

"Whitacre is that rare thing, a modern composer who is both popular and original." - The Daily Telegraph, London

""What hits you straight between the eyes is the honesty, optimism and sheer belief that passes any pretension. This is music that can actually make you smile." - Radio 3 review.

Eric Whitacre (born 1970) is an American composer best known for his choral music. He has also written a large number of wind band compositions and some electronic music. In addition, he has composed works for orchestra and an opera, Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings. His style is quite approachable and features trademark chords (sevenths and ninths, sometimes heard against a background of sustained seconds and fourths), unexpected chord progressions, aleatoric elements, finger snapping by choral singers, and a host of other typically recognizable characteristics. His soundworld, though modern and quite individual, is invested with certain elements out of the past, however: his orchestral version of Water Night, originally written for chorus, carries echoes of Barber's famous Adagio for Strings, and some have compared Whitacre's style to that of Morten Lauridsen. That said, Whitacre is among the most original American voices of his time. His music is widely performed, especially in the U.S., and recordings of his music, particularly his choral works, are available on Hyperion, Clarion, Albany, and many other labels. - AllMusic

I became a Whitacre addict after listening to Water Night on Spotify - I wish the city I live in had a decent choir that got me into his music earlier, but better late than never. Anyway I did a thorough search on Spotify and found more than 80 albums with his music, including 13 recordings of Cloudburst (choral and wind band versions) and no less than 15 Water Night. Arvo Pärt fans who don't know Whitacre yet, please do yourself a favor and give him a listen.

Get this collection in one Spotify playlist: Eric Whitacre: Complete Recordings on Spotify (222 tracks, total time: 18 hours) Ctrl (CMD) + G to browse in album view. Ctrl (CMD) + F to bring out the filter bar and look for the works. For example: type in Cloudburst and browse all 13 recordings. Looking forward to more new recordings and new works.