Ensemble Altera - The Four Elements - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Aquila Altera ensemble keeps in mind the acquisitions of the most reliable musicological studies that claim that the gap between us and early music is so unbridgeable as to make it impossible to take into consideration any musical performance removing it from it's own historical context and time; but this does not prevent the ensemble from developing a particular musical approach whereby music from the learned, therefore written, tradition, is compared with music that owes it's existence to oral transmission. This research sets the two repertoires side by side, endeavoring to detect a possible relationship between them, not only in their musical aspects, but also in their texts. The repertoire that is presented here, which is entirely Italian, juxtaposes pieces drawn from manuscripts or printed collections from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries with pieces (and performance practices) that stem from an oral tradition and from the use of musical instruments of the Italian tradition, in addition to the more common ones. These instruments have been reconstructed on the basis of the historical sources, and one of the most widespread and musically important is the bagpipe.

For this recording of the Concerti a quattro for recorder, oboe, cello and harpsichord, the Ensemble Bradamante offers an original perspective on works following the same logic, that of highlighting each instrument separately, distancing themselves from the trio sonata and drawing closer to the concerto a molti stromenti. The journey begins in Italy with Corelli, who developed the musical form of the concerto grosso, as in his famous Concerto fatto per la notte di Natale. It ends with Vivaldi, whose Concerto RV 103 features the lyrical recorder in the solo parts while the oboe oscillates between the roles of ripieno and of solo partner, concluding in a whirlwind of colour. This programme also includes works by French and Germanic composers; the Chaconne en trio of Jacques Morel, the Concerto a quattro of Handel (the paternity of which has recently been called into question as it seems it should be attributed to Telemann) in a musical style marked by an intense expressivity, not forgetting the remarkable and very rarely recorded Concert de chambre of Jean-Joseph Mouret, a man of the Provence region exiled in Paris, known above all for his stage music. The Ensemble Bradamante offers it's listeners a bouquet of pieces of chamber music with various, intense characters, where the warm, friendly dialogue between the wind instruments is supported by the rich sound of the continuo.

On Dazzling Light Christopher Lowrey and his vocal ensemble Altera explore light in all it's forms. There is a remarkable body of choral music that evokes light's many facets the light of morning and evening, sacred light, light as a symbol of Christ, light as the conqueror of darkness and even (thanks to the James Webb telescope) the light of distant galaxies. This programme includes works primarily from the 20th and 21st centuries, with music by John Rutter, Jonathan Dove, Matthew Martin, Toby Young, Charles Wood, Ko Matsushita, Sir William Harris, Eric Whitacre, Thomas Tallis, Michael Garrepy and David Hill. There is also an evening prayer by English composer Joanna Marsh, a work by South African composer Motshwane Pege, the winner of Altera's third composition competition, and John Cameron's arrangement of Edward Elgar's Nimrod from the Enigma Variations; this work, entitled Lux aeterna, is perfectly suited to Altera's strengths.