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Ceremony Of Carols / Greten-Harrison, Cloutier, Murchie, Etherea Vocal Ensemble


Release Date: 11/15/2011 
Label:  Delos   Catalog #: 3422   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Benjamin Britten,  Charles Gounod,  Traditional,  Reinhold Gliere,   ... 
Performer:  Grace Cloutier,  Alan Murchie,  Grace Cloutier,  Derek Greten-Harrison,   ... 
Conductor:  Derek Greten-Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 1 Hours 8 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

“Trebles in Paradise” and “Vocal Paradise” is just where the sublime singing of Etherea Vocal Ensemble will take their listeners with their new holiday album, Ceremony of Carols. Etherea, founded in 2008, is a unique group consisting of seven distinguished women’s voices plus the alto-range singing of founder/director Derek Greten-Harrison – who happens to be a vocal switch-hitter, performing as both a countertenor and a baritone! Together, they achieve music of rare technical craftsmanship, vocal precision and exquisite nuance – plus stunning purity and sweetness of sound, with the addition of the scintillating harp wizardry of Grace Cloutier and subtle organ support from Alan Murchie. Framing a central cluster of individual holiday Read more favorites are two beloved carol cycles with harp: Benjamin Britten’s evergreen A Ceremony of Carols and John Rutter’s Dancing Day – both heard here in definitive and enchanting performances. And we guarantee that nobody (except perhaps for those who have experienced Etherea in concert) has ever heard a performance of Good King Wenceslas (one of the central songs) like the one heard here, in which director Greten-Harrison sings both as a choral alto and solo baritone!
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Works on This Recording

1.
A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 by Benjamin Britten
Performer:  Grace Cloutier (Harp), Alan Murchie (Organ), Grace Cloutier (Harp)
Conductor:  Derek Greten-Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1942; England 
 Venue:  Marquand Chapel, Yale University, New Ha 
Length: 21 Minutes 20 Secs. 
2.
Noel by Charles Gounod
Performer:  Alan Murchie (Organ), Grace Cloutier (Harp)
Conductor:  Derek Greten-Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic 
Written: by 1867; France 
 Venue:  Marquand Chapel, Yale University, New Ha 
Length: 5 Minutes 1 Secs. 
3.
Gabriel's Message (Basque) by Traditional
Performer:  Grace Cloutier (Harp)
Conductor:  Derek Greten-Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Period: Medieval 
Written: circa 1582; Spain 
 Venue:  Marquand Chapel, Yale University, New Ha 
Length: 2 Minutes 31 Secs. 
4.
Impromptu for Harp by Reinhold Gliere
Performer:  Grace Cloutier (Harp)
Conductor:  Derek Greten-Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic 
Written: Russia 
 Venue:  Marquand Chapel, Yale University, New Ha 
Length: 4 Minutes 17 Secs. 
5.
In dulci jubilo by Traditional
Performer:  Grace Cloutier (Harp)
Conductor:  Derek Greten-Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Period: Medieval 
Written: 12th Century; Germany 
 Venue:  Marquand Chapel, Yale University, New Ha 
Length: 3 Minutes 32 Secs. 
Notes: Arrangement: John Rutter  
6.
Good King Wenceslas by Traditional
Performer:  Derek Greten-Harrison (Voice), Alan Murchie (Organ), Grace Cloutier (Harp),
Derek Greten-Harrison (), Allison Holst-Grubbe (), Grace Cloutier (Harp)
Conductor:  Derek Greten-Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Written: England 
 Venue:  Marquand Chapel, Yale University, New Ha 
Length: 2 Minutes 9 Secs. 
7.
I Saw Three Ships, carol by Traditional
Performer:  Grace Cloutier (Harp)
Conductor:  Derek Greten-Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Period: Renaissance 
Written: circa 1666; England 
 Venue:  Marquand Chapel, Yale University, New Ha 
Length: 1 Minutes 50 Secs. 
8.
Dancing Day by John Rutter
Performer:  Alan Murchie (Organ), Grace Cloutier (Harp)
Conductor:  Derek Greten-Harrison
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1974; England 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 Simply Wonderful January 25, 2013 By S EMILY E. (Fullerton, CA) See All My Reviews "One of the most beautiful and comforting productions I've ever heard. The harpist is obviously the best in class, but does not come across as 'virtuosic' and hence distracting and annoying. Simply a really really nice album, whether for bhackground (in the office) or intentional meditation." Report Abuse
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