Songs in Surround

Anna Clyne "Pocket Book VII and LXV" were composed for eight amplified voices, completed in 2015. She drew her inspiration for Pocket Book, a commissioned work from the American Roomful of Teeth, from Shakespeare's sonnets VIII and LXV. Pocket Book VIII is an adaptation of his eighth sonnet, "Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly". This opening line is sung as a prelude to the rest of the sonnet, which is whispered to capture the intimacy characteristic of Shakespeare's sonnets. A slowly moving harmonic progression is sung while the text is recited, and the music ends with a single note – alone. Eric Whitacre (born 1970) is an American composer who gained worldwide recognition with his Virtual Choir project, which bridged the gap between his music and a global audience via social media. For the first Virtual Choir, he invited singers from around the world to record themselves while performing a vocal part of his composition Lux Aurumque. After a conducted recording by Whitacre himself, hundreds of submissions were merged into one virtual choir, a concept that has since inspired similar projects worldwide. Lux Aurumque, which means 'light and gold', is based on a poem by Edward Esch. Whitacre had it translated into Latin and set it to music as a serene, flowing soundscape. The voices intertwine effortlessly and create a warm, luminous texture, like the first rays of sunshine dissolving the darkness.