Search - Grace Cloutier, Etherea Vocal Ensemble :: Ceremony of Carols

Etherea Vocal Ensemble's sublime singing takes listeners to vocal paradise with its 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 - in collaboration with the scintillating harp wizardry of Grace Cloutier and subtle organ support from Alan Murchie. Framing a central cluster of individual holiday 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 enchanting, definitive 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!