Sleep is a composition for a cappella choir by Eric Whitacre, with lyrics by Charles Anthony Silvestri. He composed it in 2000, setting a poem, " Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. When the lyrics were found still under copyright, Whitacre enlisted Silvestri to write new lyrics to the existing music.
In 1999, [1] attorney and professional vocalist Julia Armstrong commissioned Whitacre to compose a choral composition as a memorial to her parents. [2] [3] She suggested the poem " Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" that Robert Frost had published [2] in 1923, and wanted the work to be premiered by the 16-voice choral ensemble Austin ProChorus in Austin, Texas, being a member of the group. [3] Whitacre set the composition for eight parts ( SSAATTBB), [1] and it was premiered by the choir [4] in October 2000. [1]
After the work was performed also by The Concordia Choir, conducted by René Clausen, and at the 2001 national convention of the American Choral Directors Association, [1] Whitacre learned that the Frost poem was still under U.S. copyright, and he could not publish the work before the copyright expired, [2] without the consent of the Frost literary estate, which refused to grant permission. [3] Rather than giving up publishing the work, Whitacre asked poet and frequent collaborator Charles Anthony Silvestri to write a new text which would correspond to the meter of the Frost poem and to the expressive details Whitacre had emphasized in the music. [3] The next day Silvestri offered the poem "Sleep", taking up the theme of sleep from the last stanza of Frost's poem. [1] [2] Whitacre has stated that he prefers the Silvestri text over the original. [2]
Whitacre selected the piece for his " virtual choir" project in 2010, in which videos submitted by hundreds of volunteer singers were combined to produce a video representation of a combined performance. [1]
Whitacre originally believed the Frost poem's copyright would not expire until 2038; [2] [3] it in fact expired on 1 January 2019. [1] Whitacre has stated that he does not plan to release the work with the original text. [1]
The work appears on Whitacre's 2010 album Light and Gold, his first album for Decca and the first he conducted himself, performed by a group called the Whitacre Singers. [5] Sleep was also recorded in collaboration with Whitacre in 2001 by the BYU Singers and was included in a 2005 collection of choral works by Whitacre performed by Polyphony and conducted by Stephen Layton. [6] [7] [8]
Sleep has also been arranged for concert band [9] [10] and string orchestra.
Sleep is a composition for a cappella choir by Eric Whitacre, with lyrics by Charles Anthony Silvestri. He composed it in 2000, setting a poem, " Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. When the lyrics were found still under copyright, Whitacre enlisted Silvestri to write new lyrics to the existing music.
In 1999, [1] attorney and professional vocalist Julia Armstrong commissioned Whitacre to compose a choral composition as a memorial to her parents. [2] [3] She suggested the poem " Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" that Robert Frost had published [2] in 1923, and wanted the work to be premiered by the 16-voice choral ensemble Austin ProChorus in Austin, Texas, being a member of the group. [3] Whitacre set the composition for eight parts ( SSAATTBB), [1] and it was premiered by the choir [4] in October 2000. [1]
After the work was performed also by The Concordia Choir, conducted by René Clausen, and at the 2001 national convention of the American Choral Directors Association, [1] Whitacre learned that the Frost poem was still under U.S. copyright, and he could not publish the work before the copyright expired, [2] without the consent of the Frost literary estate, which refused to grant permission. [3] Rather than giving up publishing the work, Whitacre asked poet and frequent collaborator Charles Anthony Silvestri to write a new text which would correspond to the meter of the Frost poem and to the expressive details Whitacre had emphasized in the music. [3] The next day Silvestri offered the poem "Sleep", taking up the theme of sleep from the last stanza of Frost's poem. [1] [2] Whitacre has stated that he prefers the Silvestri text over the original. [2]
Whitacre selected the piece for his " virtual choir" project in 2010, in which videos submitted by hundreds of volunteer singers were combined to produce a video representation of a combined performance. [1]
Whitacre originally believed the Frost poem's copyright would not expire until 2038; [2] [3] it in fact expired on 1 January 2019. [1] Whitacre has stated that he does not plan to release the work with the original text. [1]
The work appears on Whitacre's 2010 album Light and Gold, his first album for Decca and the first he conducted himself, performed by a group called the Whitacre Singers. [5] Sleep was also recorded in collaboration with Whitacre in 2001 by the BYU Singers and was included in a 2005 collection of choral works by Whitacre performed by Polyphony and conducted by Stephen Layton. [6] [7] [8]
Sleep has also been arranged for concert band [9] [10] and string orchestra.