Eternity in an Hour

In the opening line of his 1803 poem, Auguries of Innocence, William Blake urges us to “see a World in a Grain of Sand”—to discover beauty in the smallest, simplest things. Blake’s exhortation, perhaps more relevant than ever in our age of distraction and obfuscation, is powerfully amplified in Eric Whitacre’s new oratorio Eternity in an Hour. The eight-movement work begins in familiar Whitacre territory with wide-spaced choral textures, before the composer introduces the notion of granular sound synthesis created by a Lyra-8 Russian synthesiser in conjunction with a Microcosm pedal. Whitacre’s apparatus causes something almost organic, as sound scatters and fragments with beguiling unpredictability. Piano and cello anchor this hypnotic effect while the choir intones Blake’s wisdom, the music often channelling Arvo Pärt’s use of repetition and pattern. The other work on this album, Auguries of Innocence, features reworkings of material from Eternity in an Hour, including guest appearances from saxophonist Jess Gillam and ambient artists including BlankFor.ms, Lesjamusic, IDRA and Luca Longobardi. Our Favourite Track: Experience the full power of Whitacre’s sonic universe in the third track, “And a Heaven”, and hear cello and synth answer each other as if communicating between galaxies.