The Four Elements Ensemble Altera & Christopher Lowrey

• Owain Park (b. 1993): The Wings of the Wind
• 1 Park: The Wings of the Wind 05:08
• Anonymous (16th century): Westron wynde:
• 2 Anonymous: Westron wynde (Arr. for Voice & Recorder by Michael Garrepy) 02:52
• Ivo Antognini (b. 1963): Hope is the thing with feathers
• 3 Antognini: Hope is the thing with feathers 04:57
• Eric Whitacre (b. 1970): Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine
• 4 Whitacre: Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine 08:31
• William Byrd (1540–1623): Terra tremuit:
• 5 Byrd: Terra tremuit 00:55
• Owain Park: Upheld by Stillness
• 6 Park: Upheld by Stillness 06:16
• Piers Connor Kennedy (b. 1991): Bailey:
• 7 Kennedy: Bailey 03:02
• Daniel Gledhill (b. 1984): For the beauty of the earth:
• 8 Gledhill: For the beauty of the earth 05:51
• Traditional: Deep river:
• 9 Traditional: Deep river (Arr. for Voice by Norman Luboff) 03:35
• Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924): The Blue Bird:
• 10 Stanford: The Blue Bird 03:40
• Rebecca Dale (b. 1985): There will come soft rains:
• 11 Dale: There will come soft rains 05:12
• Kenneth Leighton (1929–1988): God's Grandeur:
• 12 Leighton: God's Grandeur 05:12
• Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943): Io piango:
• 13 Lauridsen: Io piango 03:13
• Lucy Walker (b. 1998): I saw eternity:
• 14 Walker: I saw eternity 04:40
• Michael Garrepy (b. 1990): Flame of Love:
• 15 Garrepy: Flame of Love 08:31
• Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977): Salutation:
• 16 Ešenvalds: Salutation 03:30
• Total Runtime 01:15:05

Info for The Four Elements

Das Ensemble Altera unter der Leitung seines Gründers Christopher Lowrey präsentiert „The Four Elements“ – eine Reise durch Wind, Erde, Wasser, Feuer und schließlich die Quintessenz, die antike Vorstellung einer fünften Essenz. In fünf Kapiteln erkundet Musik von der Renaissance bis zur Gegenwart diese Kräfte nicht als feststehende Substanzen, sondern als lebendige Metaphern: Atem und Inspiration, Verwurzelung und Zugehörigkeit, Stille und Fluss, Leidenschaft und Verwandlung sowie das, was jenseits der materiellen Welt liegen mag. Bekannt für seine einfallsreiche Programmgestaltung und einen warmen, fokussierten transatlantischen Klang, vereint das Ensemble Altera Werke von William Byrd, Charles Villiers Stanford, Eriks Esenvalds, Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen, Owain Park, Rebecca Dale und anderen. Das Programm verbindet Meilensteine der Chormusik mit neuen Auftragswerken und frischen Bearbeitungen, darunter Weltpremiere-Aufnahmen von Michael Garrepys „Flame of Love“ und Daniel Gledhills „For the beauty of the earth“, dem Gewinner des Kompositionswettbewerbs 2021 des Ensemble Altera. Das Ergebnis ist eine lebendig gestaltete Meditation über Natur, Menschlichkeit und Vorstellungskraft, die vom ersten Hauch des Windes bis zur Stille der Quintessenz reicht.

Ensemble Altera
Christopher Lowrey, Leiter

Ensemble Altera
A chamber choir described by the BBC as “something extraordinary”, Ensemble Altera in its short history has already been identified as “a leading ensemble on the American choral scene” (Scherzo Magazine). Led by internationally celebrated countertenor Christopher Lowrey, the group has quickly become known for thoughtful programming, passionate performances, and tireless advocacy for the importance of ensemble singing in the broader music culture. BBC Music Magazine called Ensemble Altera’s debut album, The Lamb’s Journey, “clean as a whistle and confident”. Europadisc proclaimed the performances “wonderfully refined and expertly blended, with that combination of radiance, power and transparency that comes with the best chamber choirs”. In the words of the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics’ Award), which awarded the disc its coveted prize, “no recent recording debut in this field has been as spectacular.”

Recent programs include Feminine Voices (to be released on Alpha Classics in 2026), weaving together music for upper voices and harp by eight women composers with Benjamin Britten’s beloved Ceremony of Carols, A New Song: Psalms for the Soul, an exploration of the Biblical Psalm texts in all their dizzying variety, and A Christmas Present, a sumptuous collection of seasonal music written in the new millennium. Ensemble Altera is now beginning to undertake tours throughout the USA, including repeat visits to Carnegie Hall, and expands this work over the coming season. Upcoming projects include The Four Elements, a celebration of the awesome beauty and terrifying power of the sky, earth, fire, and water. Additionally, Altera teams up with celebrated conductor Raphael Pichon, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in a program entitled Mein Traum, starring soprano Ying Fang and baritone Christian Gerhaher. Later in 2025, the group offers new performances of its acclaimed chamber version of Handel’s Messiah in its native home of Rhode Island. Deeply committed to championing new works and lifting up new voices from around the globe, over the past few seasons Altera has premiered works by Ian Gabriel Corpuz, Motshwane Pege, Toby Young, Joanna Marsh, Daniel Gledhill, Zuzanna Koziej, and Michael Garrepy, and is currently collaborating with young composer Piers Connor Kennedy in a major work to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.

Christopher Lowrey
has been hailed as “one of the operatic countertenors of our day” (Bachtrack), praised for “one of the most beautiful timbres” and a “pure tone” (OperaWire), and celebrated for a voice “packed with enough character to sink a battleship” (Limelight).

He has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne, Teatro Real Madrid and Teatro La Fenice, as well as at Carnegie Hall, the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw and the Philharmonie de Paris. Recent operatic highlights include Didymus in Handel’s Theodora with Pinchgut Opera, hailed as “a tour de force of singing and acting” (Bachtrack); Medoro in Orlando at Oper Frankfurt; Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Grange Festival; and Guildenstern in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper and Sydney Opera House, a role he created at the work’s Glyndebourne world premiere.

Lowrey’s repertoire encompasses more than forty roles in Handel’s operas and oratorios. Beyond the Baroque, his roles include Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and characters created in major contemporary works. He has collaborated with conductors including William Christie, Vladimir Jurowski, Christophe Rousset, Laurence Cummings, Raphaël Pichon, Masaaki Suzuki, Leonardo García Alarcón, Harry Christophers and Erin Helyard.

Lowrey is Founder and Artistic Director of Ensemble Altera. The choir’s debut album, The Lamb’s Journey, received the German Record Critics’ Award, while Feminine Voices at Christmas was awarded five stars and named Christmas Choice 2025 by BBC Music Magazine.

Booklet for The Four Elements