First steps along The Sixteen’s 2016 Choral Pilgrimage

Mardi 1er juillet était donné à la Chapelle royale de Versailles un programme intitulé “Gloire à Dieu et au roi d’Angleterre”. Six œuvres de Haendel étaient interprétées par The Sixteen, dirigés par Harry Christophers : le Dixit Dominus, les Coronation Anthems et l’ouverture de Jephta. Un concert plaisant.

Large ecclesiastical buildings, with their hard surfaces and long high naves, are challenging for complex music like Bach’s.

Harry Christophers and The Sixteen refresh their choral pilgrimage with works old and new, that show innovative programming at its imaginative best. 

The Sixteen offer glorious tones, smooth polyphonic lines and vivid word paintings at the National Concert Hall. 

The Sixteen’s work is spoilt by a shortage of violins and some uneven solo contributions. Such imperfections only serve to highlight the excellence of the very best. 

The latest instalment of Kings Place's “Sound Unwrapped” series delivers wonderful musicianship in both jazz and early music, but not the promised “continuous fusion of styles”.