With vocal and choral music, first and foremost, it's the text. Not only do I need to serve the text, but the text - when I'm doing it right - acts as the perfect 'blueprint', and all the architecture is there. The poet has done the heavy lifting, so my job is to find the soul of the poem and then somehow translate that into music.

Eric Whitacre

Acts Architecture Blueprint Doing Done Find First Foremost Heavy Job Lifting Music Need Only Perfect Poem Poet Right Serve Somehow Soul Text Then Translate Vocal

Related Quotes

A really good poem is full of music.

— Eric Whitacre

For the first six or eight months at Juilliard I felt paralysed. I didn't know what I was doing.

— Eric Whitacre

As a composer, I know that all sorts of sounds I hear are making their way into my brain and soul and later sneak into my music.

— Eric Whitacre

BrainComposerHear

God is the perfect poet, / Who in his person acts his own creations.

— Robert Browning

ActsCreationsGod

It has the shape of a sailboat, right in line with the architecture of the river and reminiscent of the old slave ships coming to America.

ArchitectureRight