Hymn to the Dawn Etherea Vocal Ensemble

• 1 No. 1. Hymn to the Dawn 03:00
• 2 No. 2. Hymn to the Waters 02:00
• 3 No. 3. Hymn to Vena 05:07
• 4 No. 4. Hymn of the Travellers 02:26
• 5 No. 1. Spring 02:06
• 6 No. 2. Summer 03:08
• 7 10 Pieces, Op. 12: No. 7. Prelude (arr. for harp) 02:38
• 8 No. 1. Over hill, over dale 01:49
• 9 No. 2. Come unto these yellow sands 02:10
• 10 No. 3. Through the house give glimmering light 02:59
• 11 Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, Op. 35 05:01
• 12 No. 1. Ein Bild am Pfade 03:39
• 13 No. 2. Die alte Tanne 02:20
• 14 No. 3. Die Gebirgsbach 01:34
• 15 No. 4. Im Erdenraum 03:01
• 16 No. 5. Marchenzauber 01:57
• 17 No. 6. Gute Nacht 03:49
• 18 No. 1. Veni, Domine (Hear my prayer, O Lord) 04:02
• 19 No. 2. Laudate pueri (O praise the Lord), MWV B30: Laudati pueri 03:06
• 20 No. 2. Laudate pueri (O praise the Lord): Beati omnes 02:42
• 21 No. 3. Surrexit Pastor (O Lord, thou hast searched me out): Surrexit pastor bonus 02:21
• 22 No. 3. Surrexit Pastor (O Lord, thou hast searched me out): Tulerunt Dominum meum 02:06
• 23 No. 3. Surrexit Pastor (O Lord, thou hast searched me out): Surrexit Christus spes mea 00:35
• 24 No. 3. Surrexit Pastor (O Lord, thou hast searched me out): Surrexit Christus spes mea 02:24
• 25 No. 1. La foi 04:02
• 26 No. 2. L'esperance 04:23
• 27 No. 3. La charite 05:39
• Total Runtime 01:20:04

Info for Hymn to the Dawn

Following the conspicuous success of Ceremony of Carols (DE 3422), Etherea Vocal Ensemble’s stunning debut album, we at Delos are delighted to present Hymn to the Dawn: their second effort. Amid a flood of positive critical response to Etherea’s first album, critic Bob chambers’ comments (in Choral Journal, August 2012) are typical: “Throughout the recording the style is impeccable and the intonation flawless. One is immediately struck by the tone of the group ...shimmering. no boy choir could equal this tone.”

While the male choir tradition had been flourishing (particularly in Germany) since the early 1800s, works composed specifically for female choirs were quite rare – as there were practically no women’s ensembles to perform them. But two such early rarities – by Felix Mendelssohn and Gioachino Rossini – are heard in this album. Composers of the late-Romantic era didn’t begin writing regularly for treble voices until after 1859, when Johannes Brahms founded (and composed for) his women’s choir in Hamburg. This gave rise to a mini-trend that inspired composers like Josef Rheinberger, Amy Beach and Gustav Holst (all represented here) to write for such ensembles. Even so, music for women’s voices remains relatively uncommon.

This release includes first-ever recordings of Beach’s charming Three Shakespeare Choruses, Rheinberger’s accomplished Sechs Gesänge cycle, and the French-text version of Rossini’s delightful Trois choeurs religieux. Among the album’s other selections, Holst’s very seldom-heard Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda and the Two Eastern Pictures are particularly rare, exotic, strikingly lovely, and ripe for rediscovery.

The Etherea Vocal Ensemble is probably the only choir of its kind, consisting of eight voices – belonging to seven accomplished ladies and one supremely versatile gentleman: Derek Greten-Harrison, the ensemble’s director and performing countertenor (also an occasional baritone). The choir’s stiletto-sharp intonation, technical perfection, and celestially pure and gleaming sound never fail to enthrall its fortunate audiences. Keyboard master Alan Murchie and renowned harpist Grace cloutier (who also performs the beguiling solo Prelude by Prokofiev here) provide sensitive and expert accompaniment.

“It’s a pleasure to be treated to such clear and gorgeous singing... The music is not only beautifully sung, but also thoughtfully programmed… In the Beach, the choir is reduced to a quartet, and every line and word is crystal clear... sunny and sweetly sung, reminiscent at times of the great composer’s operatic choruses... is all recorded in impressive sound from the California based record label Delos, who in 2013, can be congratulated on their 40th anniversary.” (Paul Ballyk, Expedition Audio)

Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Grace Cloutier, harp
Alan Murchie, organ and piano

Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Renowned for its “superb blending of tone, dynamic range, and flexible technique” (Opera News), Etherea Vocal Ensemble is an intimate chamber group specializing in choral repertoire for treble (high) voices. Founded and directed by countertenor Derek Greten-Harrison, Etherea’s debut 2009/10 season included recitals at Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival and Yale Institute of Sacred Music; the group has since appeared at venues throughout Connecticut, including Yale Center for British Art, St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church in New Haven, First Congregational Church in Fairfield, and Calvary Church in Stonington. Etherea’s 2013/14 season includes engagements at First Presbyterian Church in Lockport, NY, Christ & Holy Trinity Church in Westport, CT, and the group’s NYC debut at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) with virtuoso harpist Grace Cloutier.

Etherea’s debut album, Ceremony of Carols, was recorded in collaboration with Cloutier and keyboardist Alan Murchie, and released on the Delos label in November 2011. It quickly became a commercial and critical success, earning glowing reviews, placing near the top of the Billboard Traditional Classical chart for six weeks (peaking at #4), and attaining the #1 Featured Album spot on iTunes Classical. 2013 saw the release of Hymn to the Dawn, a second Etherea CD on Delos, which included music by Holst and Mendelssohn, in addition to world premiere recordings of works by Beach, Rheinberger, and Rossini. The album debuted at #14 on Billboard's Traditional Classical chart and #5 on the iTunes Classical chart, and was lauded by such publications as Opera News magazine and American Record Guide.

In addition to a holiday program featuring Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, Rutter’s Dancing Day, and traditional favorites of the season, current repertoire includes music by Beach, Copland, Holst, Mendelssohn, Rheinberger, Rossini, Schubert, Schumann, and Vaughan Williams.

Grace Cloutier
Known for her expressive musicality and rich, warm sound, the young concert harpist Grace Cloutier, who trained at The Juilliard School, Yale University and in France, gave her solo début and encore solo recital at Carnegie Hall (2006, 2008) as first prize winner of the International Competition of Artist International Presentations. The New York Concert Review hailed her as, “an accomplished, poised, self-assured performer...her affinity for these works was natural and complete...[her] playing was dreamy, poetic and colorful...evoking all the colors of the rainbow with scintillating effect.”

A recipient of many prestigious awards, Miss Cloutier has performed before audiences across the United States, Canada, Europe and the Middle East. She regularly appears in recital for the American Harp Society and the World Harp Congress, and as guest soloist for the Ukrainian National Music Festival (Kiev, Kharkov). Miss Cloutier recently co-founded the first international harp competition based in Ukraine, where she will continues to perform, give master classes and serve as head juror of a panel comprised of musicians from Moscow's Bolshoi Theater for Ukraine’s International Harp Competition.

As featured principal harpist on tour with the United Nations' Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra (2000-2002), she recorded for German national television's Stars von Morgan; and the Saarbrücker Zeitung described Miss Cloutier's performances as possessing "...inspiring artfulness." She regularly appears in concert with Jennifer Black of The Metropolitan Opera, with the Biava String Quartet, and has performed with the Calder String Quartet. Miss Cloutier held a performing residency at UCLA and was recently appointed head of the harp department at The University of Texas at El Paso.

Miss Cloutier has been privileged to serve under the baton of many respected conductors including Leonard Slatkin, David Robertson, Julius Rudel, Andrew Litton, James De Priest and the Bolshoi’s Alexander Vedernikov. She has recorded with composer Paul Halley at Tanglewood Music Festival, performed with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Moscow Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, and served with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas from 2002-2006. She is currently principal harp of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Miss Cloutier also performs on Broadway, and has given solo concerts for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, the President and the First Lady. A dynamic and engaging musician, Miss Cloutier has appeared on NBC, CNN, and CBS and the national television networks of German, French and Urkaine.

Alan Murchie
is a versatile musician whose performance schedule includes regular appearances as a solo pianist, organist, conductor, chamber musician, and lecturer. Recent concert performances include piano and organ concerti with The Knights, a live recital on WGBH Boston with BSO cellist Owen Young, and appearances at summer festivals including Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, New York. As a solo pianist, Alan has toured Morocco and has performed in Vienna, Berlin, Edinburgh, Venice, and Florence. As organist, Alan’s New York recital venues have included the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola and Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue.

Alan’s musical career began at age ten, when he joined the renowned Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys. He later attended Yale College, where he was named “most promising and gifted composer” and his Paean for brass and woodwinds was chosen to open a concert dedicating the new Yale School of Music campus. After college, Alan returned to Saint Thomas as Organ Scholar and as a member of the Choir School faculty. He has served as Organist and Choirmaster at St. James’ Church, Madison Avenue, and Christ’s Church in Rye, New York, and at the Episcopal Church at Yale, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and Trinity Episcopal Church in Southport, Connecticut. He currently serves at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, Connecticut, and is Adjunct Professor of Music History at Fairfield University, where he also conducts the University orchestra.

Booklet for Hymn to the Dawn