ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Eric Whitacre - Composer, conductor
After creating and conducting a worldwide virtual choir on YouTube, Eric Whitacre is now touring with an astonishing live choir.

Why you should listen

Eric Whitacre began his music career singing in his college choir; by 21, he had written his first concert work, Go, Lovely Rose, and advanced to Juilliard, where he studied under John Corigliano. Today, he has published more than four dozen choral works, conducted in some of the most esteemed halls in the world, and featured on dozens of recordings. His album Cloudburst and Other Choral Works earned him a Grammy nomination in 2007, as did his Decca debut Light & Gold, while his new album, Water Night, debuted at #1 in US iTunes classical charts.

You may know him, too, as the creator and conductor of the virtual choir, a network of YouTube-connected singers whose voices blend together online to become true magic. And he's now touring with the Eric Whitacre Signers, a 28-voice choir (yes, they're all in the same room).

More profile about the speaker
Eric Whitacre | Speaker | TED.com
TED2013

Eric Whitacre: Virtual Choir Live

Eric Whitacre: Coral Virtual ao vivo

Filmed:
1,152,617 views

O compositor e regente Eric Whitacre tem inspirado multidões montando "corais virtuais", cantores de diversos países reunidos em vídeo. Agora, pela primeira vez, ele reproduziu esta experiência em tempo real, quando trinta e dois cantores de várias partes do mundo se unem por meio do Skype a um coral ao vivo (formado por coristas de três faculdades locais), para uma apresentação épica de "Aguaceiro", de Whitacre, composição baseada num poema de Octavio Paz.
- Composer, conductor
After creating and conducting a worldwide virtual choir on YouTube, Eric Whitacre is now touring with an astonishing live choir. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
In 1991 I had
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Em 1991 eu tive
00:14
maybe the most profound and transformative
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talvez a mais profunda e tranformadora
00:17
experience of my life.
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experiência da minha vida.
00:18
I was in the third year of my seven-year undergraduate degree.
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Estava no terceiro ano do meu curso de graduação, de sete anos,
00:23
I took a couple victory laps in there.
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Fiz uns dois anos extras lá.
00:25
And I was on a college choir tour up in Northern California,
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E eu estava numa viagem do coral da universidade, no norte da Califórnia,
00:29
and we had stopped for the day after all day on the bus,
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tínhamos feito uma parada após um dia inteiro no ônibus,
00:32
and we were relaxing next to this beautiful
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estávamos descansando junto a um bonito
00:34
idyllic lake in the mountains.
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e pitoresco lago nas montanhas.
00:36
And there were crickets and birds and frogs making noise,
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E havia grilos e pássaros e rãs fazendo barulho
00:41
and as we sat there, over the mountains coming in
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e enquanto estávamos lá, por sobre as montanhas,
00:43
from the north were these Steven Spielbergian clouds
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vindas do norte, surgiram nuvens ao estilo Steven Spielberg,
00:46
rolling toward us,
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se revolvendo em nossa direção
00:48
and as the clouds got about halfway over the valley,
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e, quando as nuvens já encobriam metade do vale,
00:50
so help me God, every single animal in that place
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juro a vocês, todos os animais naquele lugar
00:55
stopped making noise at the same time.
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pararam de fazer barulho ao mesmo tempo.
00:57
(Whoosh) This electric hush, as if they could sense what was about to happen.
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(Shhhh) Um silêncio repentino, como se eles pudessem sentir o que estava prestes a acontecer.
01:02
And then the clouds came over us, and then,
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Então as nuvens nos encobriram, e daí,
01:04
boom! This massive thunderclap, and sheets of rain.
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Bum! Uma enorme trovoada, e uma chuva torrencial.
01:09
It was just extraordinary, and when I came back home
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Foi extraordinário e, quando voltei para casa,
01:12
I found a poem by the Mexican poet Octavio Paz,
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encontrei um poema do poeta mexicano Octavio Paz,
01:15
and decided to set it to music,
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e decidi transformá-lo em música,
01:17
a piece for choir called "Cloudburst,"
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uma composição para coral chamada "Aguaceiro",
01:20
which is the piece that we'll perform for you in just a moment.
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que vamos executar para vocês em instantes.
01:23
Now fast forward to just three years ago.
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Agora acelere no tempo até três anos atrás.
01:27
(Music) And we released to YouTube this,
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(Música) Lançamos isto no YouTube,
01:31
the Virtual Choir Project,
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o Projeto Coral Virtual,
01:33
185 singers from 12 different countries.
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cento e oitenta e cinco cantores de doze países diferentes.
01:36
You can see my little video there conducting these people,
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Vocês podem assistir o meu videozinho lá, regendo essas pessoas,
01:40
alone in their dorm rooms
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sozinhas em seus alojamentos,
01:41
or in their living rooms at home.
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ou em suas salas de estar, em casa.
01:44
Two years ago, on this very stage, we premiered
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Há dois anos, neste mesmo palco, nós apresentamos pela primeira vez
01:48
Virtual Choir 2,
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o Coral Virtual 2,
01:51
2,052 singers from 58 different countries,
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dois mil e cinquenta e dois cantores, de cinquenta e oito países diferentes,
01:56
this time performing a piece that I had written called "Sleep."
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dessa vez apresentando uma composição que eu tinha escrito, chamada "Sono".
01:59
And then just last spring we released Virtual Choir 3,
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Então, na primavera passada, lançamos o Coral Virtual 3,
02:04
"Water Night," another piece that I had written,
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"Noite de Água", outra composição que tinha escrito,
02:07
this time nearly 4,000 singers from 73 different countries.
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agora quase quatro mil cantores, de setenta e três países.
02:13
(Music)
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(Música)
02:18
And when I was speaking to Chris about the future
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E quando eu falava com o Chris a respeito do futuro
02:21
of Virtual Choir and where we might be able to take this,
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do Coral Virtual e até onde seríamos capazes de chegar,
02:24
he challenged me to push the technology as far as we possibly could.
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ele me desafiou a usarmos da tecnologia o máximo que fosse possível.
02:28
Could we do this all in real time?
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Poderíamos fazer tudo isso em tempo real?
02:31
Could we have people singing together in real time?
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Poderíamos ter pessoas cantando juntas em tempo real?
02:34
And with the help of Skype,
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E com a ajuda do Skype,
02:35
that is what we are going to attempt today.
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é isso que vamos tentar fazer hoje.
02:38
Now, we'll perform "Cloudburst" for you.
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Agora, vamos apresentar "Aguaceiro" para vocês.
02:40
The first half will be performed by the live singers here on stage.
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A primeira parte será executada pelos cantores que estão cantando aqui no palco ao vivo.
02:43
I'm joined by singers from Cal State Long Beach,
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Estou acompanhado de coristas da Cal State Long Beach,
02:45
Cal State Fullerton and Riverside Community College,
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da Cal State Fullerton e da Riverside Community College,
02:49
some of the best amateur choirs in the country, and —
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alguns dos melhores corais amadores do país, e --
02:52
(Applause) --
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(Aplausos) --
02:59
and in the second half of the piece,
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e na segunda parte da apresentação,
03:01
the virtual choir will join us, 30 different singers
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o coral virtual vai juntar-se a nós, trinta diferentes cantores,
03:04
from 30 different countries.
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de trinta diferentes países.
03:06
Now, we've pushed the technology as far as it can go,
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Então, levamos a tecnologia ao limite do possível,
03:09
but there's still less than a second of latency,
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mas ainda ficamos com menos de um segundo de atraso no som,
03:12
but in musical terms, that's a lifetime.
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e, em termos musicais, isso é demais.
03:14
We deal in milliseconds.
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Milésimos de segundo fazem diferença para nós.
03:15
So what I've done is, I've adapted "Cloudburst"
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Assim, o que fiz foi adaptar "Aguaceiro",
03:18
so that it embraces the latency
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de forma que absorvesse o atraso
03:20
and the performers sing into the latency
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e que os coristas cantassem dentro do atraso,
03:23
instead of trying to be exactly together.
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ao invés de tentar que tudo ficasse precisamente simultâneo.
03:25
So with deep humility, and for your approval,
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Então, com grande humildade e para que vocês apreciem,
03:29
we present "Cloudburst."
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apresentamos "Aguaceiro".
03:31
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
03:36
(Piano)
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(Piano)
03:42
[The rain ...]
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[A chuva...]
03:53
[Eyes of shadow-water]
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[Olhos de água de sombra]
03:58
[eyes of well-water]
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[olhos de água de poço]
04:16
[eyes of dream-water.]
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[olhos de água de sonho]
04:27
[Blue suns, green whirlwinds,]
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[Sóis azuis, verdes redemoinhos,]
04:45
[birdbeaks of light pecking open]
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[bicos de luz que se abrem]
04:53
[pomegranate stars.]
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[estrelas-romã.]
05:03
[But tell me, burnt earth, is there no water?]
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[Mas me diga, terra queimada, não há água?]
05:22
[Only blood, only dust,]
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[Apenas sangue, apenas pó,]
05:30
[only naked footsteps on the thorns?]
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[apenas pegadas expostas nos espinhos?]
05:46
[The rain awakens...]
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[A chuva desperta...]
06:04
[We must sleep with open eyes,]
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[Temos de dormir de olhos abertos,]
06:07
[we must dream with our hands,]
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[temos de sonhar com nossas mãos,]
06:20
[we must dream the dreams of a river seeking its course,]
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[temos de sonhar os sonhos de um rio em busca de seu curso,]
06:25
[of the sun dreaming its worlds.]
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[do sol sonhando seus mundos.]
06:39
[We must dream aloud,]
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[Temos de sonhar em voz alta,]
07:00
[we must sing till the song puts forth roots,]
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[temos de cantar até que a canção mostre raízes,]
07:27
[trunk, branches, birds, stars.]
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[tronco, galhos, pássaros, estrelas.]
07:57
[We must find the lost word,]
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[Temos de encontrar o mundo perdido,]
08:12
[and remember what the blood,]
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[e lembrar aquilo que o sangue,]
08:20
[the tides, the earth, and the body say,]
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[as marés, a terra, e o corpo falam,]
08:46
[and return to the point of departure...]
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[e retornar ao ponto de partida...]
09:04
(Music)
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(Música)
11:34
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
11:49
["Cloudburst" Octavio Paz][translation by Lysander Kemp, adapted by Eric Whitacre]
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["Aguaceiro" Octavio Paz] [tradução de Lysander Kemp, adaptado por Eric Whitacre]
11:51
Eric Whitacre: Beth. Annabelle, where are you? Jacob.
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Eric Whitacre: Beth. Annabelle, onde estão vocês? Jacob.
11:58
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
12:20
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
Translated by Leonardo Silva
Reviewed by Isabel Villan

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Eric Whitacre - Composer, conductor
After creating and conducting a worldwide virtual choir on YouTube, Eric Whitacre is now touring with an astonishing live choir.

Why you should listen

Eric Whitacre began his music career singing in his college choir; by 21, he had written his first concert work, Go, Lovely Rose, and advanced to Juilliard, where he studied under John Corigliano. Today, he has published more than four dozen choral works, conducted in some of the most esteemed halls in the world, and featured on dozens of recordings. His album Cloudburst and Other Choral Works earned him a Grammy nomination in 2007, as did his Decca debut Light & Gold, while his new album, Water Night, debuted at #1 in US iTunes classical charts.

You may know him, too, as the creator and conductor of the virtual choir, a network of YouTube-connected singers whose voices blend together online to become true magic. And he's now touring with the Eric Whitacre Signers, a 28-voice choir (yes, they're all in the same room).

More profile about the speaker
Eric Whitacre | Speaker | TED.com