Festive riches from The Sixteen

By Dominic Lowe, 22 December 2016

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Reviewed at Cadogan Hall, London on 20 December 2016

Traditional, I wonder as I wander

Handl, Omnes de Saba venient

Hopkins, We Three Kings

Fricker, A Babe is born

Howells, Long, long ago

Palestrina, Reges Tharsis et insulae

Traditional, Wexford Carol

Palestrina, Videntes stellam Magi

Traditional, Children’s Song of the Nativity

Sheppard, Reges Tharsis

Anonymous, Plainsong hymn: Crudelis Herodes

de Lassus, Omnes de Saba

Traditional, The First Nowell

Warlock, Bethlehem Down

Cornelius, The Three Kings

de Lassus, Videntes stellam

Bassi, Quem pastores laudavere

Anonymous, Magnificat Antiphon: Tribus miraculis

Anerio, Magnificat a 8

The Sixteen

Harry Christophers, Conductor

Bach and Gluck resound in Bath Abbey with The Sixteen

Roy Westbrook, 21st February

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

****1

Angel of Peace: The Sixteen’s annual choral pilgrimage

Leighton Jones, 4th April

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

*****

Heavenly sounds from The Sixteen with Harry Christophers in Dublin

Andrew Larkin, 20th June

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

****1

Uneven Mozart and Haydn from The Sixteen at Cadogan Hall

Mark Valencia, 16th February

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.

***11

The Sixteen and Julian Joseph: a one-sided conversation

David Karlin, 27th January

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”.

***11

Exalted Messiah: The Sixteen and Harry Christophers

Roy Westbrook, 6th December

How do you conduct the same over-familiar work for the 200th time, and make it sound quite new?

*****

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Dominic Lowe

Dominic Lowe recently completed a degree in Classics, and one of his great interests is the reception of Greece and Rome in opera. A regular opera-goer since his very early teens, he is particularly keen on the hidden operatic gems of the 19th century. He is largely based in the South of England.

Festive riches from The Sixteen at the Cadogan Hall