Dazzling Light

On Dazzling Light, Christopher Lowrey and his vocal ensemble Altera explore light in all its forms. There is a remarkable wealth of choral music that explores the different facets of light: the light of morning and evening, sacred light, light as a symbol of Christ, light as the conqueror of darkness, and even (thanks to the James Webb telescope) the light of distant galaxies. The program features mainly works from the 20th and 21st centuries by John Rutter, Jonathan Dove, Matthew Martin, Toby Young, Charles Wood, Ko Matsushita, Eric Whitacre, Michael Garrepy, but also pieces by Thomas Tallis, Sir William Harris, and David Hill. There is also an Evening Prayer by English composer Joanna Marsh, a work by South African composer Motshwane Pege, the winner of Altera's third composition competition, and John Cameron's arrangement of Edward Elgar's Nimrod from the Enigma Variations; this work, titled Lux aeterna, is perfectly suited to Altera's capabilities.