Celebrate the holiday season with up-and-coming chamber choir Ensemble Altera in this beautiful program for feminine voices, harp, and organ. The program centers on Benjamin Britten’s beloved Ceremony of Carols, a familiar and attractive work for audiences alongside works by five female composers including Hildegard von Bingen, medieval polymath and mystic, her music is best characterized as mysterious, sensuous, and ethereal; Barbara Strozzi, 17th-century virtuoso singer and composer, whose sacred music is rarely performed; Imogen Holst, Gustav Holst’s only child and student of Benjamin Britten; Elizabeth Poston, who beautifully set the text of a poem which first appeared in a New Hampshire hymnal in the late 18th century; and Joanna Marsh, one of the most exciting young voices. To round out the program, a few well-known Christmas songs, which will include the harp and organ – a festive treat for everyone!
TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY!
Friday, December 3 at 7:30 P.M. (evening)
Saturday, December 4 at 2:30 P.M. (matinee)
Please view our health and safety policy for all indoor concerts HERE before purchasing tickets.
In compliance with the CDC guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals, the audience will be at full capacity.
PROGRAM:
HILDEGARD VON BINGEN Chant
JAMES BINGHAM Procession & Carols: Lullaby
IMOGEN HOLST Welcome Joy & Welcome Sorrow, no. 1, 6
JOHN SHEPPARD Audivi vocem de caelo
GUSTAV HOLST Ave Maria
CECILIA MCDOWALL Ave Maria
JOANNA MARSH Magnificat from St. Paul’s Service
BARBARA STROZZI O, Maria
ELIZABETH POSTON Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
HENRIETTE RENIE Ballade fantastique for Harp
BRITTEN Ceremony of Carols
RUTTER Deck the Halls
MICHAEL GARREPY Silent Night
RUTTER Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day
*Program subject to change
Explore program notes for this performance.