The Sacred Veil - a project led by Eric Whitacre and Charles Anthony Silvestri - was created following the passing of Charles’ wife, Julia in 2005. It represents a journey towards the answer for many questions, including whether departed loved ones are truly gone, and how can we mourn those we have lost whilst still moving forward? In Charles’ own words, the project became “a significant part of my journey toward healing and wholeness after great loss.”
Poet, author, composer, and speaker Charles Anthony Silvestri has worked with other artists from all over the world to create texts tailor-made for their commissions and specific artistic needs. He enjoys the challenge of solving these creative problems and has provided custom choral texts, opera libretti, program notes and other writing for composers including Eric Whitacre, Ola Gjeilo, Kim Arnesen, and Dan Forrest, and for ensembles ranging from high schools to the Houston Grand Opera, from the King’s Singers to the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, from Westminster Choir College to Westminster Abbey.
Grammy® Award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre is one of the world’s most performed living composers. His works have been programmed worldwide by millions of amateur and professional performers, while his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united singers from over 120 different countries. Eric, a graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School of Music, is presently Artist in Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, following five years as Composer in Residence at the University of Cambridge, UK.As conductor of the Eric Whitacre Singers, he has released such chart-topping albums including Light and Gold and Water Night. In high demand as guest conductor, he has drawn capacity audiences to concerts with the Netherlands Radio Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Flemish Radio Choir, and Minnesota Orchestra.
"Siinä missä Whitacren kuorokappaleita toisinaan voi vaivata pintapuolinen hehkutus tuttujen ikiaikaisten teemojen parissa, Secret Veil menee syvälle teemaan. Whitacren laatima lähes tunnin kestoinen soivuus soi koskettavasti ja aidosti. Musiikki soljuu rauhallisesti, pehmeästi ja lohdullisesti. Perinteisellä tavalla kauniisti liplattavan teoksen maailmaan on helppo tuudittautua.
Esittäjistö on huippuluokkaa. Eric Whitacren itsensä johtamana muusikkokaarti, Los Angeles Master Chorale, sellisti Jeffrey Zeigler sekä pianisti Lisa Edwards tekevat erinomaista jälkeä. Secret Veil edustaa Whitacren tuotannon parhaimmistoa." - Aki Yli-Salomäki, Yle Radio 1, Uudet levyt, 29. 9. 2020.
