On this weekend's Choral Mix, we are delighted to welcome choral music sensation Eric Whitacre here for a conversation with Kent Tritle. A native of Nevada, the charismatic composer and conductor has built a global audience through his many recordings, robust Internet presence and crowd-sourced virtual choir projects.

Woven into our interview are settings of Whitacre's music as well as pieces he has been drawn to throughout his career as a composer.

We start off the show with a quintessential American work, Thompson's Alleluia and juxtapose that with Whitacre's Alleluia, from his new album "Water Night." We continue the theme of comparative texts with Whitacre's setting of When David Heard that Absolam was slain, followed by a setting of the same text by Thomas Thomkins, the great English Renaissance composer.

Now based in London, Whitacre has had great success in the UK. We explore some of the major differences between American and British choirs and listen to recordings of his works performed by groups on both sides of the pond. 

We also listen to Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque and This Marriage, and conclude with a recording of Whitacre's Little Birds performed by the Brigham Young University Choir.  Whitacre's music has a broad appeal, a fact that has endeared him to many high school and college choirs.

Join in the discussion:  What are your favorite Eric Whitacre compositions, and can you tell which pieces were sung by British or American choirs?

Playlist:

Whitacre/Alleluia/ The Eric Whitacre Singers, Eric Whitacre      

Alleluia

Thompson/Alleluia/The Kansas City Chorale/Charles Bruffy

Alleluia

Whitacre/ When David Heard that Absolam was slain / Water Night/ The Eric Whitacre Singers

When David Heard that Absolam was slain

Thomkins/ The Cambridge Singers/ John Rutter

When David Heard that Absolam was slain

Whitacre/This Marriage/Polyphony /Layton

This Marriage

Whitacre/ Lux Aurumque/ Polyphony /Layton

Lux Aurumque

Whitacre/ Little Birds/Brighman Young University Singers/Eric Whitacre

Little Birds