Feminine Voices at Christmas Ensemble Altera & Christopher Lowrey

• Hildegard von Bingen (ca. 1098 - 1179): O viridissima, Virga:
• 1 Bingen: O viridissima, Virga 02:11
• Imogen Holst (1907 - 1984): Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow:
• 2 Holst: Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow: I. Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow 01:45
• 3 Holst: Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow: IV. Shed no Tear 01:28
• Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934): Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, H. 99:
• 4 Holst: Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, H. 99: No. 7, Hymn to the Dawn 03:30
• Joanna Marsh (b. 1970): Magnificat:
• 5 Marsh: Magnificat 05:52
• Cecilia MacDowall (b. 1951): Ave Maria:
• 6 MacDowall: Ave Maria 03:40
• Adrian Peacock (b. 1962): There Is No Rose:
• 7 Peacock: There Is No Rose 03:16
• Ian Shaw (b. 1960): I Sing of a Maiden:
• 8 Shaw: I Sing of a Maiden 02:21
• Barbara Strozzi (1619 - 1677): Sacri musicali affetti, Op. 5:
• 9 Strozzi: Sacri musicali affetti, Op. 5: No. 7, O Maria quam pulchra es 03:11
• Kerensa Briggs (b. 1990): Coventry Carol:
• 10 Briggs: Coventry Carol 04:18
• Elizabeth Poston (1905 - 1987): Jesus Christ the Apple Tree:
• 11 Poston: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree 03:41
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Friday Afternoons, Op. 7:
• 12 Britten: Friday Afternoons, Op. 7: No. 5, A New Year Carol 02:44
• Germaine Tailleferre (1892 - 1983): Sonate pour harpe:
• 13 Tailleferre: Sonate pour harpe: II. Lento 04:06
• Benjamin Britten: Ceremony of Carols:
• 14 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: I. Procession 01:48
• 15 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: II. Wolcum Yole! 01:22
• 16 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: III. There is no Rose 02:51
• 17 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: IVa. That Yongë Child 01:56
• 18 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: IVb. Balulalow 01:29
• 19 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: V. As Dew in Aprille 00:58
• 20 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: VI. This Little Babe 01:22
• 21 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: VII. Interlude 04:17
• 22 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: VIII. In Freezing Winter Night 03:49
• 23 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: IX. Spring Carol 01:14
• 24 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: X. Adam Lay I-Bounden 01:07
• 25 Britten: Ceremony of Carols: XI. Recession 03:05
• Anonymous: Dancing Day:
• 26 Anonymous: Dancing Day: No. 1, Prelude 03:44
• 27 Anonymous: Dancing Day: No. 8, Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day 03:06
• Total Runtime 01:14:11

Info zu Feminine Voices at Christmas

Die "Feminine Voices" feieren die weibliche Stimme und die Weihnachtszeit mit dem Magnificat, dem Ave Maria und einer Auswahl von Weihnachtsliedern - eines schöner als das andere.

Im Mittelpunkt des Programms, das Christopher Lowrey und die Sängerinnen des Altera Ensembles zusammengestellt haben, stehen acht Komponistinnen: Hildegard von Bingen, Imogen Holst, Germaine Tailleferre, Cecilia McDowall, Joanna Marsh, Barbara Strozzi, Elizabeth Poston sowie Kerensa Briggs mit einer Weltpremiere. Auch Komponisten sind vertreten, darunter John Rutter, der viele Weihnachtslieder geschrieben hat, sowie Benjamin Britten mit seinem berühmten "Ceremony of Carols". Dieses Werk wird heute meist von Knabenchören aufgeführt, wurde aber ursprünglich für die Frauen des Fleet Street Choir geschrieben. Die hier eingespielte Version ist Brittens Original: „Sieben Weihnachtslieder für Frauenstimmen und Harfe! Sehr lieblich und voller Charme“. Altera und die Harfenistin Li Shan Tan präsentieren diese magische und bezaubernde Musik mit hörbar großer Freude.

Ensemble Altera
Christopher Lowrey, Leitung

Ensemble Altera
A chamber choir described by the BBC as “something extraordinary”, Ensemble Altera in its short history has already been identified as “a leading ensemble on the American choral scene” (Scherzo Magazine). Led by internationally celebrated countertenor Christopher Lowrey, the group has quickly become known for thoughtful programming, passionate performances, and tireless advocacy for the importance of ensemble singing in the broader music culture. BBC Music Magazine called Ensemble Altera’s debut album, The Lamb’s Journey, “clean as a whistle and confident”. Europadisc proclaimed the performances “wonderfully refined and expertly blended, with that combination of radiance, power and transparency that comes with the best chamber choirs”. In the words of the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics’ Award), which awarded the disc its coveted prize, “no recent recording debut in this field has been as spectacular.”

Recent programs include Feminine Voices (to be released on Alpha Classics in 2026), weaving together music for upper voices and harp by eight women composers with Benjamin Britten’s beloved Ceremony of Carols, A New Song: Psalms for the Soul, an exploration of the Biblical Psalm texts in all their dizzying variety, and A Christmas Present, a sumptuous collection of seasonal music written in the new millennium. Ensemble Altera is now beginning to undertake tours throughout the USA, including repeat visits to Carnegie Hall, and expands this work over the coming season. Upcoming projects include The Four Elements, a celebration of the awesome beauty and terrifying power of the sky, earth, fire, and water. Additionally, Altera teams up with celebrated conductor Raphael Pichon, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in a program entitled Mein Traum, starring soprano Ying Fang and baritone Christian Gerhaher. Later in 2025, the group offers new performances of its acclaimed chamber version of Handel’s Messiah in its native home of Rhode Island. Deeply committed to championing new works and lifting up new voices from around the globe, over the past few seasons Altera has premiered works by Ian Gabriel Corpuz, Motshwane Pege, Toby Young, Joanna Marsh, Daniel Gledhill, Zuzanna Koziej, and Michael Garrepy, and is currently collaborating with young composer Piers Connor Kennedy in a major work to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.

Christopher Lowrey
has been hailed as “one of the operatic countertenors of our day” (Bachtrack), praised for “one of the most beautiful timbres” and a “pure tone” (OperaWire), and celebrated for a voice “packed with enough character to sink a battleship” (Limelight).

He has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne, Teatro Real Madrid and Teatro La Fenice, as well as at Carnegie Hall, the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw and the Philharmonie de Paris. Recent operatic highlights include Didymus in Handel’s Theodora with Pinchgut Opera, hailed as “a tour de force of singing and acting” (Bachtrack); Medoro in Orlando at Oper Frankfurt; Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Grange Festival; and Guildenstern in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper and Sydney Opera House, a role he created at the work’s Glyndebourne world premiere.

Lowrey’s repertoire encompasses more than forty roles in Handel’s operas and oratorios. Beyond the Baroque, his roles include Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and characters created in major contemporary works. He has collaborated with conductors including William Christie, Vladimir Jurowski, Christophe Rousset, Laurence Cummings, Raphaël Pichon, Masaaki Suzuki, Leonardo García Alarcón, Harry Christophers and Erin Helyard.

Lowrey is Founder and Artistic Director of Ensemble Altera. The choir’s debut album, The Lamb’s Journey, received the German Record Critics’ Award, while Feminine Voices at Christmas was awarded five stars and named Christmas Choice 2025 by BBC Music Magazine.

Booklet für Feminine Voices at Christmas