Page 245 - FINAL_The Sixteen Coverage Book 40th Anniversary Year

7 November 2019

Ancient Supplications in Astonishing Song

New York
Alice Tully Hall, Starr Theater

James MacMillan: Miserere – Stabat Mater (American Premieres)
Britten Sinfonia, The Sixteen, Harry Christophers (Conductor)

The Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia, H. Christophers

“Music helps give us a vision that is well beyond the horizons of the materialism and
consumerism of our contemporary society. What is music, after all? You can’t see it, you
can’t touch it, you can’t eat it, but its palpable presence always makes itself felt: not just
in a physical way, but in a way that reaches down in the crevices of our souls. ”
James MacMillan (1959–), in Playbill

“I hate analysis, I can’t think of anything more boring. You have to have faith in your
own ideas, because copying someone else ends in utter disaster. Read the words, know
what they mean. Try and get into the head of the composer.”
Harry Christophers (1953– ) to interviewer Victoria Finlay, South China Morning Post

Composer James MacMillan and conductor Harry Christophers are inevitably
described as “eminent” and/or “distinguished” personages. They probably are. Yet
when one watches or listens to either personage (sorry!), more personal adjectives are
needed. Mr. Christophers, whose original all-male The Sixteen has branched out in
gender and number (26), but his ensemble preserves the same feeling of spontaneity.
Now in his 40th year since founding the group, Mr. Christophers could lead them with
a few gestures. But he seems to improvise his movements, he somehow gesticulates
both warmth and utmost personal fondness for this ensemble. In even in the most
emotional passages–and they were manifold in last night’s performance for the White
Light Festival–he never loses sight of the music’s preeminent beauty.

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