Feminine Voices celebrates the female voice and the Christmas season, with a kaleidoscopic selection made up of the Magnificat, "Ave Maria" and carols, each of which is more wonderful than the last.
Eight female composers feature in the programme that Christopher Lowrey and the singers of the Altera ensemble have devised, with works by Hildegard von Bingen, Imogen Holst, Germaine Tailleferre, Cecilia McDowall, Joanna Marsh, Barbara Strozzi, Elizabeth Poston, and a world premiere by Kerensa Briggs.
Male composers are also included, with works by John Rutter, who has written many Christmas carols, and Benjamin Britten's famous Ceremony of Carols, a work now generally performed by boys' choirs but which was originally written for the women of the Fleet Street Choir.
The version recorded here is Britten's original: "seven Christmas carols for women's voices and harp! Very sweet and full of charm". Altera and the harpist Li Shan Tan perform this magical and spellbinding music with delight.
1. O viridissima, virga - Hilidgard Von Bingen
2. Welcome Joya and Welcome Sorrow - Imogen Holst
3. Hymn to the Dawn - Gustav Holst
4. Magnificat - Joanna Marsh
5. Ave Maria - Cecilia McDowell
6. There is no rose - Adrian Peacock
7. I sing of a maiden - Ian Shaw
8. O Maria Quam pulchra es' - Barbara Strozzi
Coventry Carol - Kerensa Briggs
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree - Elizabeth Poston
Sonate pour harpe (Lento) - Germaine Tailleferre
A New Years Carol - Benjamin Britten
Ceremony of Carols -
Dancing Day - John Rutters arr.
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