The Sixteen

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – An Old Belief (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:16:01 minutes | 1,25 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Coro

Avec “An Old Belief”, les chanteurs de The Sixteen – ensemble vocal toujours parmi l’un des plus plébiscités au monde – nous montrent durant une heure et quart qu’ils peuvent couvrir cinq siècles de musique avec grâce et naturel. Fort de plus de quarante ans d’existence, le choeur fondé par Harry Christophers qui officie toujours aux commandes impressionne par la qualité constante de ses interprétations, quel que soit le répertoire concerné.
(more…)

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – Sirens’ Song (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:02:59 minutes | 1,07 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Coro

What would singing be without words? When you combine wonderful poetry with exquisite music, the result is magical. In a rare break from the sacred collections they are famed for, this album from The Sixteen features a whole programme of secular music devoted to English partsongs. From Stanford’s cycle of Eight Partsongs based on the sparing yet infectious poetry of Mary Elizabeth Coleridge to Bridges’ lyrically descriptive writing in Finzi’s Seven Poems of Robert Bridges and Imogen Holst’s idyllic Six Part-Songs Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow using verses by John Keats, each setting captures the mood of the poem brilliantly.

(more…)

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – Palestrina, Vol. 9 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:10:11 minutes | 2,68 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Coro

Palestrinas music is exquisite and sumptuous? characterised by a richness of texture and purity of sound. From his sacred Masses to settings of the secular Song of Songs, The Sixteen brings this serene and delicate soundworld to sparkling life. Palestrina was a towering figure in Renaissance polyphony and arguably the greatest composer of liturgical music of all time. For nearly half a millennium his legacy and impact on sacred music worldwide has been second to none. The Sixteen continues its acclaimed series exploring a selection of his massive output, with this volume featuring the richly sonorous Missa Ut re mi fa sol la at its heart. The Sixteen also shines a spotlight on some of the glorious music Palestrina wrote for St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist.

(more…)

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – Monteverdi: Vespers of 1610 (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:46:02 minutes | 1,76 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Coro

Following the success of their Monteverdi Selva morale e spirituale recordings, The Sixteen and Harry Christophers release a work often classed as one of the most significant collections of sacred music ever written: Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. It is a work grand in conception and structure; revolutionary techniques established in his secular music, such as recitar cantando – speak through singing – are brought to the church platform with stunning effect.

Harry writes: ‘Its variety alone makes it unique – thrilling psalm settings with virtuosic writing for both multi-part choir and instrumentalists to exotic and sensual settings of texts from the Song of Songs for solo voices. Every movement is full of luscious harmonies, drama and an evocative musical language which is so beautifully constructed for all concerned.’

(more…)

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – A Watchful Gaze (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:13:07 minutes | 1,33 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Coro

William Byrd was one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance. He was widely admired in his own time both at home and abroad and the influence he had on future generations of composers was immense. This programme explores the music of his influences, his colleagues and his pervading faith. In his 400th anniversary year, Byrd’s legacy is marked by the commission of two new pieces from acclaimed composer Dobrinka Tabakova, bringing his musical heritage firmly into the modern day.

The two premieres, Arise Lord into thy rest and Turn our captivity, highlight the beauty of modern polyphony and showcase The Sixteen in a new light. The programme also features works by van Wilder, de Monte, Clemens non Papa and, of course, Byrd himself.

(more…)

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – Bach Masses (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 02:27:36 minutes | 2,49 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Coro

Bach’s four Lutheran Masses feature almost no Lutheran material at all. Sometimes called “Missa brevis”, musically they are almost entirely made up of movements borrowed from Bach’s Cantatas. While often overshadowed by the more famous Mass in B minor, the beauty of these short Masses is that they represent Bach’s own choice of his finest Cantata movements.Despite their exquisite beauty, featuring splendid choruses and deeply moving arias, there are relatively few recordings of the Masses. This collection combines The Sixteen’s recordings into one collection. Just eight singers join The Sixteen’s orchestra to perform the Masses, allowing the beauty of the virtuosic vocal lines to be heard with absolute clarity.

(more…)

The Sixteen & Harry Christophers – The Call of Rome (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:12:43 minutes | 1,22 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Coro

Rome – the ‘Eternal’ City. Once the capital of a republic and empire which defined the Western world in ancient times and left indelible imprints thereafter both physically and spiritually. A city of unparalleled beauty, a source of learning, and a capital of the arts which has inspired countless pilgrimages. A city which motivated the composers on this album to create some of their finest works including one of the most famous pieces of choral music ever written – Allegri’s Miserere.

(more…)

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – A Meditation (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:18:28 minutes | 1,38 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Coro

Once again The Sixteen and the Genesis Foundation have teamed up to bring premiere recordings of a fascinating selection of new choral commissions to audiences worldwide.

The five new choral works on this album – by James MacMillan, Will Todd, Anna Semple, Eoghan Desmond and Lisa Robertson – all grew from a meditation by St John Henry Newman. Canonised in October 2019, Newman’s writings represent a rich and thought-provoking legacy and, alongside the new works presented, are immortalized in three well-known hymns and Sir Edward Elgar’s exquisite elegy They are at rest.

Also included are two of Elgar’s psalm settings – Great is the Lord and Give unto the Lord. These are monumental works for choir and organ, full of grandeur and drama, but also inherently simple. The album ends with a bonus track by Bob Chilcott – also a Genesis Foundation commission – based on Psalm 139.

(more…)