Cloudburst (Whitacre)

Cloudburst is one of Eric Whitacre's most famous compositions. It dates from 1992, when the composer was only 22. It is written for eight-part choir, accompanied by piano and percussion. The text is from Octavio Paz's poem El Cántaro Roto (The Broken Water-Jug), adapted by Whitacre.

The first section is a cappella, with strikingly dissonant but beautiful tone clusters. The composer notates long, sustained notes with text to be spoken at random by each individual singer. This creates a very disorienting and interesting effect, when executed well. After the initial section, there is a chilling baritone solo, followed by the development of a new a cappella theme. This continues until a speaking solo (unusual in choral music) backgrounded by music. The choir continues, a cappella, building up to a striking section where the choir literally builds chords up from the bass (similar to arpeggio on a piano).

A few pages later, a new section, titled "The Cloudburst", begins. It starts with handbells (which have been hidden from the audience) being struck as notated for two bars, then at random, and the choir crescendos into an aleatoric section, which is signaled by a loud clap of "thunder". During this time, the choir also claps, snaps, and smacks thighs in order to create a rain-drop effect. This combines with the vocal lines to create an effect similar to a thunderstorm. The percussion used in this section is a thunder sheet, bass drum, the handbells, a suspended cymbal, and wind chimes. The piano also enters during the portion. The storm gradually builds then fades, and the ending of the piece mirrors the beginning section, with expressive arpeggiated runs and block chords on the piano.

Cloudburst was nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award in best Choral Performance. A concert band version, commissioned for the Indiana All-State Band, was made by composer in 2001.

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