Gentlemonth: Horror and the Supernatural

The harvest approaches. The light wanes with each fleeting day. Men and women shudder at the dubious, damp, dank, dark. Scarecrows and straw-men are raised once more - peering in ghastly silence. Fields and forests seep with the hushed trills of imps. Rusty tractors slowly amble, droning and coughing, trancelike in their tiresome toiling. Creaking floorboards sound out hollow moans. Families lock their doors, and soak their sanity in superstition.

And, rightfully so.

October is here. All Hallows Eve is fast approaching and you know what that means. Gather 'round the camp fire, Gentle Readers. For this month, in the spirit of the harvest, of ghost and goblins, of magik (with a k) and mayhem, of undeath and desire, we discuss the torrid tales percolated within humanity's unconsciousness. Stories so foul, tales so horrifying, legends so dreadful, knowing that they stray from the mouths of mortal men will leave you aghast.

That's right, Gentle Readers. This month, These Gentlemen discuss fan fiction. And we - hold on. What the-

Jason Heat: Ozkirbas, we are not discussing... fan fiction.

Ozkirbas: Where did you COME from!?

JH: Fan fiction does not have a place on These Gentlemen!

Oz: Not even supernatural fan fiction?

JH: Especially not supernatural fan fiction

Oz: But, it was for the la-

JH: OCTOBER IS A MONTH OF HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL!

Oz: Ok, seriously. Is there a trap door somewhere or - hey. Hey, where'd you go?

How'd he do that? Weird. Well, it's October and (now that fan fiction is out) These Gentlemen are taking on Horror and the Supernatural! My classy companions and I venture deep into the mythos and ethereal wonder that permeates the dark recesses of American culture. Myths, monsters, urban legends, and horror motifs abound! Pray that we are fruitful. And, that we return with our lives and minds intact!

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - "Sleep"

Perhaps my favorite contemporary composer for chorus and wind ensemble, Eric Whitacre has finally finished the world's first virtual choir. Arranged without audition, Whitacre called on his blog for all interested singers to post a video of themselves on YouTube performing "Sleep" from his album Cloudburst - a collection of original choral works arranged and composed by himself, directed by Stephen Layton, and performed by Polyphony. Whitacre collected the various videos, organized them according to voice part, and compiled them into the video seen below. It's a little dirty when it comes to articulation and release, but the result still has a surprising level of quality:

(Waldo is hidden somewhere in this video. Can you find him?)

Amazing in concept and execution. Creating a virtual choir holds a lot of implications about where the music industry could potentially go - especially with classical composition. Eric Whitacre's blog is called Soaring Leap. Give it a click and look around. He has a lot to keep you interested and the first article will have the names and locations of the people involved in the video above posted in the comments section through out the day.

Eric Whitacre primarily composes choral and wind ensemble pieces - my favorite being "October" posted below:

(Performed by Arizona State University Wind Ensemble)

Additionally, in 2007 Whitacre, with lyricist David Noroña, wrote and composed for his own creation, Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings. An "Opera Electronica," Paradise Lost combined classical composition with ambient rock, electronic music, and opera. It had a very limited release, but the reviews were mostly positive. Check out the intro below:

I'm still kicking myself for not being able to catch it.