That reminds me of my first trip to Leipzig in 1996 at which time I heard the traditional performance by the Thomanerchor and Gewandhaus Orchestra of the St. John Passion in the Thomaskirche. It was broadcast live from there across Europe. This was a bit before Leipzig was again hit with a tremendous influx of tourists, so the experience was similar to what had been for many years before. At the end of a brilliant performance, there was absolute silence. It was not applause withheld. There was no applause at all. After many minutes, the congregation (for that's what they were), quietly began to rise and go somberly into the night. It was, as I suppose it had always been to that time, a religious meditation, not a "performance". It was extremely impressive.
I played this song in band and my band director had us imagine this: the most important person in your life laying on their deathbed, holding their hand as they finally accept death, and the final things you would say to them. how you would remember them thinking about the times you shared with them. i remember crying while i played afterwards. the real power of music is magical. i will forever love this piece.
I wound't do this to my choir, nor approve if our director asked it. Me and my wife sing in a same choir, and I know how she would feel if she'd be made to think so.
@@SafetBerisha82I would never sing in a choir where we were not asked to internalize the lyrics. Otherwise, what is the point? Just making the same noises at the same time as everyone else?
@@JohnSmith-oe5kx I think you are supposed to make your own interpretation, but maybe having everyone on the same wavelength helps the choir especially
If this is what death sounds like...... I am much relieved. Probably one of the best voluntary choirs in Europe elevated in the hands of Eric Whitacre. It made me shiver.
WOW! Fasten your seat belt at 2:36 - this is absolutely the best thing I've heard in 2020! So emotionally loaded, and well done to all involved. Tears rolling freely at the end...
Damn. That is intense. Every single choir member doing their best to emote their closest encounter / emotion with or envision of Death--is it their own, or that of a loved one, a child, a miscarriage? You be the judge. While not every choir member is fully invested this time around (one can only imagine that this is not an iterable performance,) there is some genuine pain, regret, loss, longing, and peace, which is so nakedly shared with in this moment. Such is the reverence in the moment, that the maestro solemnly and respectfully does not conduct, but let's things flow.
My choir performed this at the prestigious performing arts center in our area. I felt so lucky that night and this was by far my favorite piece we ever performed. The song is so haunting.
I adore this song. It is hauntingly beautiful. I remember singing it with my choir and it is a feeling unlike any other. It always moves me to tears. I think it encompasses the beauty, sadness, choaticness, and peace of death. Its an enchanting song that I truly love listening to to this day. Thank you for this amazing rendition.
So powerfully evokes the short play of light that is this life, and the completeness of the wonderful enclosing Darkness out of which we arise, and to which we return.
I played this in my HS concert band as well, it's what introduced me to the piece and I've loved it ever since. Personally, I prefer a much slower tempo but it's a beautiful piece. I prefer it on the organ as well but any rendition is nice to listen to.
The Lyrics: Come sweet death, come soothing rest, come and lead my homeward, I am weary of life and longing, come I am waiting for thee, come now and set me free, my eyes at last are gently closing, come blessed rest
THANK you. I was stunned by the choir's dissonance while on their own, focusing individually yet together, making us wait for the 'resolution'. It evokes a deeply spiritual experience for all of us who have LOST loved ones in this life seeing agony & knowing theirs is our own.
They did this song justice! I had to sing this for my a capella high School choir and we were #1 for 3 consecutive years. Thanks for providing a memory.
I performed this for a choir festival a few years ago. This is such an amazing piece of music. It's hunting yet so gorgeous especially when done right. Still to this day has to be one of my favorite choral pieces that I've performed!
That was Different .. Actually its bloody brilliant!! i keep watching and listening to it! everyone and every voice plays a part to make this exceptional! Bravo!!
Impresiona como una obra de casi 300 años tenga un impacto emocional monumental y que siga vigente en todos los sentidos. Con una vision actual y adaptada a los tiempos la obra surge poderosa y conmovedora al mismo tiempo. Magnifica interpretacion que me confirma que Bach nunca compuso una sola obra de musica... Bach creo su filosofia de la vida y luego cambio las letras por notas. Asi de simple.
This is fascinating! I have honestly never heard anything like it. So much dissonance for such an extended period of time into a final resolution that eventually fades away into nothingness. Perfect.
@Prince E Perhaps it helps to be a chorus singer yourself to appreciate the extended chaotic dissonance. Maybe it makes a philosophical statement, but as music it is the opposite of beautiful. It's like a dip into hell after death. It certainly is *not* Bach.
@@Arctic_Narwhal I don't know if he would have written it, but I have no doubt he would have found it beautiful. Bach was an avid arranger of his own music, and I think he would be deeply sad if his music attained immortality but stayed dead because no one did anything new with it.
I believe that this song is very much an acquired taste, not mine unfortunately. I have sung this with a choir here in France and it is testing. There is no arrangement for the latter part so each singer effectively decides which note to hold. As a consequence every performance will be different. This is a wonderful choir.
This was the first song I ever sang in German in my first year at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. I was so puzzled why my voice teacher has chosen such a boring song, there is nothing sweet about death, I thought then. She said this is a song that a Christian would appreciate better than you, death is the end of suffering and the beginning of sublime sweet rest for eternity. But, life is far much better I insisted, there is drama, suffering, release, love, fun, pleasure and it's short, how am I going to spend eternity happy without experience the opposite? Boring. Then I was like 18 years old. Now, after singing professionally to a decent level, I want to live, even more, be able to bring through my voice the complexity of life, I still not sure what's so wonderful or horrid about the afterlife, nobody has come back from the afterlife to tell us hey, wait until you get here, this worth every breath to experience. I am not going to live my life hoping to die so I can hear Bach perpetually. I must admit this rendition of Kome süßer Tod, was nice, bravissimi.
exactly the reason i am here. Wanted to check this out as soon as I learned of Damage Inc being inspired by this. As Cliff would say. "Bach is God." \m/
Uh, not great. Director gives no clear cues, and as a result the consonants are all over the place. Limply waving your hands around is useless. Entrances are harsh, like at 1:24. Destroys the mood of the piece
no no no no no no not those hands, no this music doesn't need any show elements verry disappointing, banal, useless BUT: Great Choir, compliments for the music
I think you’re missing the point. It’s not typical of Whitacre to do “choralography”. This technique is like a visual representation of the minimalist phasing of standardized tonality. It’s almost like watching those psychedelic videos from the late 60s where hands and feet are moving with slowly following phased out versions of itself. Except in a live performance with no visual effects, this is a great way to do it just with the choir. I was following along with the sheet music, and I didn’t understand what they were doing after they repeated the first eight measures of this Bach (Sandberg) arrangement. Then I listened closely, and watched the hands, and as you guess, once again the choir repeats the first eight measures, but slows down to a crawl, and everyone goes at a slightly different tempo, and what happens is this brilliant phasing of tone clusters, and you can kind of tell where everybody is at by looking at the visual representation of their hands, voila!
@@tactus72 this "choralography" is violating text and music absolutly not necessary, corniness, honestly, it makes me laughing, because its so grotesk stupid
It's actually a part of the score for this arrangement, my choir was supposed to perform this before the pandemic. It adds another level of connection for the singer's with the gestures, and honestly I feel this song wouldn't feel as impactful without them. It's not a song you can dance too, but it isn't rigid so using gesture to help articulate really bridges a gap, at least in my eye. I wasn't too sure of it at first when we received the score, especially with such solemn lyrics but actually doing it made me appreciate the choice to have them in. Anyways I just wanted to add my perspective, I hope you have a nice day.
My dear friend Enhard. Obviamente respeto su punto de vista. Permítame solo un simple apunte. Si usted canta, solo, en grupo o en coro, intenté solamente una vez acompañar su canto con un movimiento adecuado. Luego, por favor, comparta su experiencia aquí. Gracias y buena música.
The aleatoric part never fails to give me goosebumps
............and the audience held their applause! THANK YOU!!!
I sang this for All-State choir one year and some idiot started clapping before we were done. Ruined it for everyone.
That reminds me of my first trip to Leipzig in 1996 at which time I heard the traditional performance by the Thomanerchor and Gewandhaus Orchestra of the St. John Passion in the Thomaskirche. It was broadcast live from there across Europe. This was a bit before Leipzig was again hit with a tremendous influx of tourists, so the experience was similar to what had been for many years before. At the end of a brilliant performance, there was absolute silence. It was not applause withheld. There was no applause at all. After many minutes, the congregation (for that's what they were), quietly began to rise and go somberly into the night. It was, as I suppose it had always been to that time, a religious meditation, not a "performance". It was extremely impressive.
I played this song in band and my band director had us imagine this: the most important person in your life laying on their deathbed, holding their hand as they finally accept death, and the final things you would say to them. how you would remember them thinking about the times you shared with them. i remember crying while i played afterwards. the real power of music is magical. i will forever love this piece.
I wound't do this to my choir, nor approve if our director asked it. Me and my wife sing in a same choir, and I know how she would feel if she'd be made to think so.
What a powerful story. Thank you for sharing that with us.
@@SafetBerisha82I would never sing in a choir where we were not asked to internalize the lyrics. Otherwise, what is the point? Just making the same noises at the same time as everyone else?
@@JohnSmith-oe5kx I think you are supposed to make your own interpretation, but maybe having everyone on the same wavelength helps the choir especially
If this is what death sounds like...... I am much relieved. Probably one of the best voluntary choirs in Europe elevated in the hands of Eric Whitacre. It made me shiver.
Bach dedicated his work to the glory of God. The Bible in John 14 give us a heavenly glance of our Eternity. Blessings Mrs. AmandaCaines.
WOW! Fasten your seat belt at 2:36 - this is absolutely the best thing I've heard in 2020! So emotionally loaded, and well done to all involved. Tears rolling freely at the end...
I thought something amazing was gonna happen at 2:36
Damn. That is intense. Every single choir member doing their best to emote their closest encounter / emotion with or envision of Death--is it their own, or that of a loved one, a child, a miscarriage? You be the judge. While not every choir member is fully invested this time around (one can only imagine that this is not an iterable performance,) there is some genuine pain, regret, loss, longing, and peace, which is so nakedly shared with in this moment. Such is the reverence in the moment, that the maestro solemnly and respectfully does not conduct, but let's things flow.
Perfection in every way ... This is larger than life performance; and it's about death, so there's life even in death.
My choir performed this at the prestigious performing arts center in our area. I felt so lucky that night and this was by far my favorite piece we ever performed. The song is so haunting.
My choir sang this in highschool and I was reminded of the song and am now in tear, it was one of my favorite songs we ever did
I adore this song. It is hauntingly beautiful. I remember singing it with my choir and it is a feeling unlike any other. It always moves me to tears. I think it encompasses the beauty, sadness, choaticness, and peace of death. Its an enchanting song that I truly love listening to to this day. Thank you for this amazing rendition.
I sang this at area all state. One of the best chorale pieces I’ve ever sang. Truly a masterpiece.
So powerfully evokes the short play of light that is this life, and the completeness of the wonderful enclosing Darkness out of which we arise, and to which we return.
Wow. I have played this piece in concert band, but this arrangement just blows me away. Wow.
I played this in my HS concert band as well, it's what introduced me to the piece and I've loved it ever since. Personally, I prefer a much slower tempo but it's a beautiful piece.
I prefer it on the organ as well but any rendition is nice to listen to.
majcrash- Me too.... One of my favorite to play.
I did this in college choir in the early 90's and it was one of my favorite things.
The Lyrics:
Come sweet death, come soothing rest, come and lead my homeward, I am weary of life and longing, come I am waiting for thee, come now and set me free, my eyes at last are gently closing, come blessed rest
Lithuanian- American here. I love this. Thank God.
NOTHING can do what the human voice can do! Thank you
The first time I heard this song, in public at a concert, I started to cry.
THANK you. I was stunned by the choir's dissonance while on their own, focusing individually yet together, making us wait for the 'resolution'. It evokes a deeply spiritual experience for all of us who have LOST loved ones in this life seeing agony & knowing theirs is our own.
Bach would be pleased at this deep and soulful rendition. I love Eric's twist on it. Spiritual, piercing, divine.
I agree. Just a shame he him self is conducting it..
I performed this my junior year of high school and it still has a very special place in my heart. I cry every time lol Absolutely beautiful
They did this song justice! I had to sing this for my a capella high School choir and we were #1 for 3 consecutive years. Thanks for providing a memory.
I sang this at Carnegie Hall in April 2018 - one of the most weirdest yet angelic pieces my choir ever did live!
did your choir sing it at different speeds of interpretation
@@MisMonic Do you mean during the second time the hand motions are done? If that's what you mean, then yes!
I performed this for a choir festival a few years ago. This is such an amazing piece of music. It's hunting yet so gorgeous especially when done right. Still to this day has to be one of my favorite choral pieces that I've performed!
Sure, nobody's perfect but can be sublimely inspired & get to inspire the world. Like here. Wow. Congratulations to all & each 🍀🙏
Seen this video today for the first time. Great performance, beautiful!
One day I will go crazy with Eric's creation cause it's beyond the humanity's mind in a good sense)
I like that Eric chose to mix the choir here. I think it creates a powerful homogenous sound especially poignant for the free-time section.
Wait this isn't evangelion
This is (not) Evangelion.
Infinite Rumination Yo can (not) remember
@@Insert639 which Spider-Man? 2?
Same, lol
Thank God for that.
This performance is extremely effective and moving.
What I just watched is my absolute new favorite thing right now. I'm going back in..
Wonder what this would be like over Third Impact
Hauntingly beautiful and lovingly warm at the same time!
By far the coolest version of this song I can find on UA-cam.
Find the Virgil Fox version on the Wanamaker Organ. Amazing.
All the comments about those brought to tears, and I thought I was being overly emotional. It’s so raw and yet serene. 😢
A remarkable rendition.
This was like a spiritual experience to listen to.
This is how I want to go.
My high school marching band plays this chorale at the beginning of our show titled overlord
We did this last year in my chamber choir. We had fun with it but it was definitely challenging.
That was Different .. Actually its bloody brilliant!! i keep watching and listening to it! everyone and every voice plays a part to make this exceptional! Bravo!!
Mind blowing: thank you all 👏👏
Impresiona como una obra de casi 300 años tenga un impacto emocional monumental y que siga vigente en todos los sentidos. Con una vision actual y adaptada a los tiempos la obra surge poderosa y conmovedora al mismo tiempo. Magnifica interpretacion que me confirma que Bach nunca compuso una sola obra de musica... Bach creo su filosofia de la vida y luego cambio las letras por notas. Asi de simple.
La canción Damage Inc de Metallica está inspirada en esta obra.
Me refiero a la Intro del principio.
This is fascinating! I have honestly never heard anything like it. So much dissonance for such an extended period of time into a final resolution that eventually fades away into nothingness. Perfect.
@Prince E Perhaps it helps to be a chorus singer yourself to appreciate the extended chaotic dissonance. Maybe it makes a philosophical statement, but as music it is the opposite of beautiful. It's like a dip into hell after death. It certainly is *not* Bach.
@@davehshs651 No, it is beautiful.
Maybe Bach wouldn't think that way, but I really do
@@davehshs651 Does it have to be Bach? There are things in this world, musical things, that Bach could never have conceived of.
@@jemiller226 No, of course it does *not* have to be Bach. It just has to be beautiful.
@@Arctic_Narwhal I don't know if he would have written it, but I have no doubt he would have found it beautiful. Bach was an avid arranger of his own music, and I think he would be deeply sad if his music attained immortality but stayed dead because no one did anything new with it.
Congratulations 👏 👏 👏
Bach trae mensajes divinos del cielo
I believe that this song is very much an acquired taste, not mine unfortunately. I have sung this with a choir here in France and it is testing. There is no arrangement for the latter part so each singer effectively decides which note to hold. As a consequence every performance will be different. This is a wonderful choir.
What about "Immortal Bach" by Knut Nystedt?
steve mathews - I found the ending to pretentious and overbearing... But to each his own...
@@ipsurvivor What?
@@ipsurvivor this is what makes it original on the contrary !!! Compared to other versions !!
This was the first song I ever sang in German in my first year at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. I was so puzzled why my voice teacher has chosen such a boring song, there is nothing sweet about death, I thought then. She said this is a song that a Christian would appreciate better than you, death is the end of suffering and the beginning of sublime sweet rest for eternity. But, life is far much better I insisted, there is drama, suffering, release, love, fun, pleasure and it's short, how am I going to spend eternity happy without experience the opposite? Boring. Then I was like 18 years old. Now, after singing professionally to a decent level, I want to live, even more, be able to bring through my voice the complexity of life, I still not sure what's so wonderful or horrid about the afterlife, nobody has come back from the afterlife to tell us hey, wait until you get here, this worth every breath to experience. I am not going to live my life hoping to die so I can hear Bach perpetually. I must admit this rendition of Kome süßer Tod, was nice, bravissimi.
J'en ai les larmes aux yeux
Dios existe.
Bach nos lo demuestra.
Yo soy ateo... pero tomo vacaciones cuando escucho a Bach
Haunting.
Excellent!.. Well done!
¡ I really Love this !
Absolutely stunning!
I recon that JSB would approve...
я хотела бы петь в этом хоре 🙏
Wow !
Breathtaking.
I think Eric is crying at the end. Who wouldn't be?
I wonder what they were doing with their hands. I have never seen anything like that in a performance...
THE best choral song ever
Remarkable.
wow, the overtone at 3:58
HOLY CRAP! and being directed by one of the most incredible composers on earth ERIC WHITACRE!!! OMGGG
Tiene algo como que no me cierra esa energia ...la obra original da una paz profunda ...este final no me provoca lo mismo....
Great and unexpected ending
Çok etkileyici...
Metallica drew inspiration from this for the last song on their third album.
DAMAGE INC. R. I. P. CLIFF BURTON ❤️
exactly the reason i am here. Wanted to check this out as soon as I learned of Damage Inc being inspired by this. As Cliff would say. "Bach is God." \m/
Cliff…..!!!!!!
Maybe some will understand this here: DAMAGE INC.
"Cliff's gonna love this." - Bach
I love Eric and I want to have his musical babies
Amazing
Sang it in high school
👌👌👍👍👍🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Very impressed, what's that intro music?
Does someone have the actual score of this arrangement?
Are humans an instrument
No, Patrick, humans aren't an instrument.
Bach wrote this knowing his hope was in Christ
Clockin into work be like
i Always: will Carry someone in this Choras in my ♥ : Visada_
1:14
I'm seriously not trying to be sarcastic, are they trying to desync the 'K' sounds in "come" for the effect?
It's what good choral groups do.
Maybe I relate too much to this song
It doesn’t make much sense if you zoom in.
Damage inc from Metallica Intro
yo solo vine por mi jugo de naranja....
Evangelion
This looks like some really weird cult stuff
It's not.
Uh, not great. Director gives no clear cues, and as a result the consonants are all over the place. Limply waving your hands around is useless. Entrances are harsh, like at 1:24. Destroys the mood of the piece
no no no no no no
not those hands, no
this music doesn't need any show elements
verry disappointing, banal, useless
BUT:
Great Choir, compliments for the music
I think you’re missing the point. It’s not typical of Whitacre to do “choralography”. This technique is like a visual representation of the minimalist phasing of standardized tonality. It’s almost like watching those psychedelic videos from the late 60s where hands and feet are moving with slowly following phased out versions of itself. Except in a live performance with no visual effects, this is a great way to do it just with the choir. I was following along with the sheet music, and I didn’t understand what they were doing after they repeated the first eight measures of this Bach (Sandberg) arrangement. Then I listened closely, and watched the hands, and as you guess, once again the choir repeats the first eight measures, but slows down to a crawl, and everyone goes at a slightly different tempo, and what happens is this brilliant phasing of tone clusters, and you can kind of tell where everybody is at by looking at the visual representation of their hands, voila!
@@tactus72
this "choralography" is violating text and music
absolutly not necessary, corniness, honestly, it makes me laughing, because its so grotesk stupid
It's actually a part of the score for this arrangement, my choir was supposed to perform this before the pandemic. It adds another level of connection for the singer's with the gestures, and honestly I feel this song wouldn't feel as impactful without them. It's not a song you can dance too, but it isn't rigid so using gesture to help articulate really bridges a gap, at least in my eye. I wasn't too sure of it at first when we received the score, especially with such solemn lyrics but actually doing it made me appreciate the choice to have them in. Anyways I just wanted to add my perspective, I hope you have a nice day.
My dear friend Enhard. Obviamente respeto su punto de vista. Permítame solo un simple apunte. Si usted canta, solo, en grupo o en coro, intenté solamente una vez acompañar su canto con un movimiento adecuado. Luego, por favor, comparta su experiencia aquí.
Gracias y buena música.
Yes, it is written into the actual score to include these exact movements.