Elora Festival Singers/Noel EdisonNaxos 8.559677
**
Forty-year-old, Nevada-born Eric Whitacre is a hugely successful composer of choral music. Choirs simply love his work, and printed editions of his music, which he publishes himself, are said to sell by the hundreds of thousands. In May, he signed an exclusive contract with the Decca label. In the middle of last month, he took over New York’s Carnegie Hall for a choral extravaganza involving 425 voices. Comparisons have been made with John Tavener and Arvo Pärt – but those composers show a lot more individuality. Whitacre is clearly intent on producing music with sweet melodies and resonant harmonies that flatters its performers even when it’s spiced with the mildest of dissonances. Transpose Stainer’s Crucifixion into the 21st century rather than think of Pärt. A disc only for people with the sweetest of musical teeth.
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