Page 116 - FINAL_The Sixteen Coverage Book 40th Anniversary Year
P. 116
26 October 2019
An Enduring Voice: The Sixteen's 40th
anniversary choral pilgrimage reaches
Durham
****
By Jane Shuttleworth, 26 October 2019
Like the word games beloved of the Tudor composers who make up so much of The Sixteen’s core
repertoire, the title of their 2019 Choral Pilgrimage has multiple meanings. “An Enduring Voice” could
refer to the Eton Choirbook, a great treasure chest of early Tudor church music, from which The Sixteen
drew for tonight’s programme. It could also refer to the quiet inspiration of the Virgin Mary, dedicatee of
Eton Chapel, and thus the subject of much of the music in the Eton Choirbook. And finally, it aptly
describes The Sixteen themselves and their founder and director Harry Christophers as they celebrate their
fortieth anniversary. A fair number of those singing in the Choral Pilgrimage at Durham Cathedral tonight
probably weren’t even born when Christophers founded his ensemble, but certainly for the nine years that
I’ve been seeing them, their distinctive sound, that mixes purity of tone with refined expressivity has
remained consistent.
The Sixteen
© Firedog
From that great Eton collection, The Sixteen selected words by John Sheppard, Robert Wylkynsn and
Robert Fayrfax. The Gloria from Sheppard’s Missa Cantante had poise and a nice pace, with plenty of
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