The Virtual Choir

The idea was simple. Suggest to singers all over the world that they download a particular recording of a choral work from iTunes. Then, individually in their own homes, they were to sing along to their part – soprano, tenor, base or whatever, and record themselves doing so on their webcamr. The results were to be posted on YouTube and the composer of the work would select 100 suitable videos and edit them together to form the world’s first virtual choir, a choir made up of people who had never met.

And that’s how Eric Whitacre’s haunting choral work Sleep took the classical world by storm.

But that was just the start. The next project was based on another of his pieces, Lux Aurumque. This time he he published the sheet music on line and posted a ‘conducting track’ on his website. This was simply video of himself conducting the piece in silence except for a few notes being played softly on a piano. Again the participants recorded themselves in their own bedrooms or kitchens singing their parts. He ended up with 243 tracks from 185 singers from 12 countries. The result is astounding.

So, what next from the virtual choir? Their will be another recording in September and I for one can’t wait to find out