Page 109 - FINAL_The Sixteen Coverage Book 40th Anniversary Year
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It will perform at Truro Cathedral on Friday, October 11.
The Sixteen has long been celebrated for its championing of Tudor music,
particularly that of the Eton Choirbook, as well as choral treasures of the 20th
century and its work with 21st-century composers.
This year’s programme revisits The Sixteen’s grassroots with performances of
English polyphony juxtaposed with works by Tavener and Eric Whitacre.
The Sixteen’s close relationship with award-winning composer, Sir James
MacMillan continues with a new commission, O virgo prudentissma based on a
fragment from the Eton Choirbook.
The programme also features Tavener’s Hymn to the Mother of God & Hymn for
the Dormition of the Mother of God, Sheppard’s Gloria & Agnus Dei from Cantate
Mass, Eric Whitacre’s SainteChapelle, Fayrfax’s Eternae laudis lilium which was
performed on The Sixteen’s very first recording on Hyperion, Gabriel Jackson’s
Ave Maria and Wylkynson’s monumental Salve Regina, also from the Eton
Choirbook.
The Sixteen continues to invest in a number of dynamic education and outreach
projects with the aim of engaging further with its current audience and also
developing a new one. The ethos of access and support runs throughout their
thriving education programme.
During the tour, the choir invites those who enjoy choral music to join in through
the Choral Workshop Series. This year, the choir undertakes eight workshops to
give keen amateur singers an opportunity to explore a selection of music inspired
by its 19th Choral Pilgrimage programme.
The workshops include advice on vocal technique, as well as performance
interpretation and historical context all under the guidance of Associate
Conductor Eamonn Dougan and singer and practical scholar Sally Dunkley.
Throughout the Choral Pilgrimage tour the education team spend a five-day
residency in Carlisle, Manchester and Truro with animateur Sam Glazer and
singers from Genesis Sixteen, its free choral training programme for singers aged
18-23.
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