Feminine Voices at Christmas

"Feminine Voices" celebrates the female voice and the Christmas season, with a kaleidoscope of Magnificats, Ave Marias and Christmas carols, each one more beautiful than the last. Eight female composers are on the programme, devised by Christopher Lowrey and the singers of the Altera ensemble: Hildegard von Bingen, Imogen Holst, Germaine Tailleferre, Cecilia McDowall, Joanna Marsh, Barbara Strozzi, Elizabeth Poston, as well as a world premiere by Kerensa Briggs. There are also a couple of composers, including John Rutter, who wrote many Christmas carols, and Benjamin Britten's famous Ceremony of Carols, a work that is now largely reserved for boys' choirs, but was originally written for the women of the Fleet Street Choir. The version recorded here is Britten's original vision: "7 Christmas carols for female voices and harp! Very lovely and full of charm!" Altera and harpist Lishan Tan perform this magical and engaging music with pleasure.