BBC Singers go middle-of-road
OrchestrasThe BBC has signed easy-listening composer Eric Whitacre are artist in residence with the BBC Singers for the group’s centenary year.
The BBC Singers were narrowly saved from abolition last year amid an unspurge of public support for one of Britain’s most accomplished ensembles for difficult contemporary music.
Whitacre, 54, is immensely popular with singing groups of every ability, even more so with church communities and concert audiences.
But putting him together with the BBC Singers is like slathering caviar with HP Sauce, say the hardline new-music crowd.
Judge for yourselves. They are performing tonight at the Proms.
I’ve heard The Sixteen – arguably equally caviar-and-champagne as the BBC Singers – performing Eric Whitacre as part of their Choral Pilgrimage. This seems like misplaced snobbery.
I completely disagree with you , Norman. Eric Whitacre’s beautiful choral music is not “middle of the road”. Like all unaccompanied choral music it is difficult to sing WELL and bang in tune. Both of my sons were Oxbridge choral scholars and sang much of his beautiful music to high acclaim. The fact that less accomplished choirs can sing his music and achieve excellent results can only be a good thing and, of course, any composer who helps to introduce anyone to the joys of choral music is to be lauded. Just because something is relatively easy to sing and extremely popular does not make it “middle of the road” in any way . And even if it does….. what’s wrong with that? We cannot afford to be snobbish and superior about any singing of ANY type of music in a country that seems to be letting singing slip out of the curriculum instead of encouraging ALL singing for its proven benefits.
BBC Singers are a bunch of perfect pitched choral scholars these days and make that kind of straight piercing sound accordingly. Never made that sound in John Poles day. Heard them last year at the Proms singing unaccompanied Poulenc songs suddenly put into a concert programme with Simon Rattle. Heard better, sorry.
Eric Whitacre is not an ‘easy listening’ composer and the caviar/HP Sauce analogy is simply crass. Like any composer of substance his music repays study and ‘careful listening’. The fact that he has composed works that are immediately enjoyable does not make them ‘easy’. That he is a popular contemporary composer should be a cause for celebration amongst the ‘new music crowd’ rather than some sort of perverse embarrassment. The BBC Singers will continue to excel in a wide repertoire, including music of a difficulty uncompromising enough to satisfy the most exacting of the NMC faithful and more power to them. I look forward to the Whiteacre Prom this evening and Saturday’s Choral Day – in the house of choirs there are many mansions
He is easy listening and a french shower to boot.
That should end the debate right there. RogerW hath spoken!
More total snobbery here. Where are the hardline new-music crowd (whatever that means)? The certainly don’t buy tickets in any great number. In a time where churches have more people in the choir stalls than the pews, this is the future.
I love the coinage ‘unspurge’. I am trying to think of a meaning for it. Please don’t correct it!
There is easy listening in all the great composers too.
Voces 8 enjoy performing Whitacre. What I like about Whitacre and Voces 8 is their commitment to the concept of music for all. The BBC singers too can manage Seal Lullaby as well as Spem in alium and Pärts Beatitudes
Who are these snobs and why are they being quoted anonymously?
There’s a lot of bad choral composers out there, but Whitacre is not among their number.
Popular he may be. That’s not the same as undeserving of respect.
I agree wholeheartedly with the assessment of most of your correspondents. Much of Eric Whitacre’s music is far from straightforward to perform, and some is very difficult: e.g.his ‘When David heard’, which in addition to being a fine piece of choral music (eight-part, from memory), is also psychologically true to the experience of bereavement.
PS I also disagree completely with Sarah’s view on the BBC Singers’ performance of Poulenc’s ‘La Figure Humaine’ with Simon Rattle at last year’s Proms. Credit where it’s due: it’s a fiendishly difficult piece to perform live. I thought the BBC Singer’ performance showed the world just how foolish and misguided was the original decision to scrap the Singers.(BTW, I speak as one who did quite a bit of freelance work with the BBC Singers in John Poole’s day).
Snobbish nonsense, Norman. “Leonardo Dreams of a Flying Machine” and “When David Heard” are but two of the most demanding a cappella works written in the past quarter century, and Whitacre has captured some of the most eloquent expressions of poetry in his fine writing, for example “Sleep” and “A Boy and a Girl”. The BBC Singers clearly have recognized his major voice in choral writing with this appointment. Sorry, Norman, you are completely wrong on this one.
With whom did he study composition?
John Corigliano among others.
He wrote all of his good compositions at Julliard and it has been the same since. The Professor most likely had a heavy hand in the works.
Quite.
Breathtakingly awful take. Wow.
To answer my own question: Whitacre studied composition with Ukrainian composer Virko Baley, according to Wikipedia, and John Corigliano, according to Eric Whitacre.
Met him, had dinner with him…
he regurgitates the work he did at Julliard with a professor and has not had any orginal ideas since. Easy Listening but not an easy dinner guest, horrible conversationlist who thinks he is Sting but not even close.
Regurgitation at dinner evokes a disturbing image.
Bit of musical snobbery going on here I think.
Having heard ‘Eternity in an Hour’ at the Proms which was excellent, this is an exciting opportunity for the BBC singers and the composer..
Since the “hardline new music crowd” are saying this out loud – they must be as you heard it – why are you not telling us who they are? Or is this like the “a friend close to …” source so beloved of the tabloids?
A desperate misjudged box ticking exercise by the BBC to try to justify keeping the BBC singers in employment.
Another example of auntie dumbing down to the level of the common denominator audiences that support the lamentable Proms schedule.
There is a woeful lack of discernment in classical music these days when once highly regarded performing groups have to stoop to the crass pappy crap that this composer (ha!) churns out to the musically illiterate who claim it as easy and accessible.
Shame on the BBC once again for instigating such musical pap on those of us who are discerning and intelligent to recognise this music as easy listening of the worst type