In 1999 the BYU Singers, conducted by Ronald Staheli, performed two Whitacre pieces - "When David Heard" and "Water Night" - as part of their solo premier at New York's Carnegie Hall. The success of the BYU Singers: Live at Carnegie Hall recording, demand for more Whitacre music, and the fruitful partnership between the composer and BYU Singers led to Whitacre's request for the group to record his complete a cappella works in 2001. As a result of the enormous response to that album, the Singers are pleased to release a companion volume, Eric Whitacre 2. This CD was recorded in the spring of 2008, is essentially volume two of Eric Whitacre: The Complete A Cappella Works. That recording, released by the BYU Singers, continues to be one of the best-selling choral CDs worldwide. This recording includes some of Whitacre's compositions for accompanied choir, but is mostly his a cappella pieces written since 2001. The varied nature of these pieces in this second compilation led to the Singers' collaboration with the BYU Concert Choir, conducted by Rosalind Hall, and the BYU Women's Chorus, conducted at the time by David Thomas. A very highly recommended release! |
