That Which Holds Us Together

There was a time when the luminous sound of a choral performance was defined solely by the certain resonance of voices in an acoustically-fitting space– a cathedral, perhaps, a high-ceilinged hall with columns of stone soaring into the air and wrapping the sound within its spacious confines. And this is still important, still a staple image, still an ideal rooted in tradition, but it is not the only definition.

The Virtual Choir may be a relatively well-known phenomenon by now, and has probably already been thoroughly discussed by others. This fact, however, does not diminish its impact. Eric Whitacre, who coordinated (and still coordinates) the project, posts sheet music and an instructional video of his silently conducting it on the internet. And the internet, in response, performs his music, as individuals who upload their respective parts onto Youtube. These are then assembled into a multi-track work, the likes of which have never been seen before.

The goal of the project, says Whitacre, was to “not just sing our parts separately and cut them together; I wanted to see if we could actually make music.” And he did. They did.

Aside from the aesthetic, auditory wonder of the music itself, there is also the fact that the shape and nature of what constitutes a community, what constitutes a shared understanding and a shared experience, has been expanded to accommodate this, the Virtual Choir. No longer are those who wish to create music together restricted by geography or personal circumstances or who one is.

A singular idea, the one piece of music, is merely an amorphous concept until it is realized. Under normal [choral] circumstances, a number of people come together, make their individual sounds fit together, and perform. The Virtual Choir, however, breaks that concept into small pieces and disperses them all around the world. Here and there, individuals pick up the pieces, nourish them, and then they are fed back into the system and reassembled once again into a whole, but an entire, fleshed-out, fully realized whole.

This, good people, could very well be the sound of humanity.