Rather than discard the gorgeous harmonic structure he had built, Whitacre turned to his friend, poet Charles Anthony Silvestri. He asked Silvestri to write new lyrics that fit the existing rhythm and phrasing of the Frost setting. The result was Sleep —a text that mirrors the quiet, heavy-lidded transition from wakefulness to dreaming.

Do not settle for a blurry, illegal scan on a foreign server. Support the composer. Purchase the official digital edition from GIA Music. Print it on high-quality paper. Respect the fermatas. And when your choir finally sustains that final chord before the silence, you will understand why a $3 PDF is worth infinitely more than its weight in gold. Visit giamusic.com, search “Sleep (Eric Whitacre),” and select “Digital Download.” Invite your choir into the exclusive sea of legitimate, beautiful choral sound.

Sleep is published exclusively by (a division of GIA Publications). It is protected by international copyright law. Whitacre is a living composer (born 1970), and his works will remain under copyright for his lifetime plus 70 years.