Songs in Surround

Eric Whitacre (b. 1970) is an American composer who gained worldwide acclaim with his Virtual Choir project, bridging the gap between his music and a global audience through social media. For the first Virtual Choir, he invited singers from around the world to record themselves performing a vocal part from his composition Lux Aurumque. Following a conducted recording of Whitacre himself, hundreds of submissions were blended into a single virtual choir—a concept that has since inspired similar projects worldwide.

Lux Aurumque—meaning “light and gold”—is based on a poem by Edward Esch. Whitacre had it translated into Latin and set it to music as a serene, flowing soundscape. The voices intertwine effortlessly, creating a warm, luminous texture, like the first rays of sunlight dissolving the darkness.