“The Sacred Veil,” is work for choir and solo piano and cello. It was a collaboration between composer Eric Whitacre and poet/lyricist Charles Anthony Silverstri. Silvestri’s wife, Julie, died of ovarian cancer, leaving two small children. The poems tell the story of courtship, love, family, loss, grief, and the search for solace. As Silvestri writes: his “poetry evoked exquisite and heart-breaking music from Eric Whitacre.”
I had the good fortune to hear the work in person and it inspired my images, a few of which are here.
Veil Grows Thin 18 x 12" ~ 2026
Veil Opens 9 x 12" ~ 2026 [The text of the first poem above]
Veil Opens 6 x 12" ~ 2026
Birth 12 x 9" ~ 2026
Home 12 x 9" ~ 2026
I'm Afraid [this segment of the music responds to Julie's diagnosis of terminal cancer] 9 x 12" ~ 2026
One Last Breath [death draws near] 12 x 9" ~ 2026
You Rise I Fall 12 x 9" ~ 2026
Child Of Wonder: Time to End Your Voyage 9 x 12" ~ 2026