Heffers Sound in Cambridge

Our window-display in Heffers Sound in Cambridge, where we had a party last night before our Cambridge University Press-sponsored Choral Pilgrimage concert in St John's College Chapel. It was great to meet Heffers Sound customers and Sixteen fans and to strengthen our label's partnership with one of the UK's top independent CD retailers. Our new Victoria CD remains in the classical charts at no. 9: if you can't get to Heffers Sound you can order it online from our CORO shop.

Onwards to Cambridge....

Following Liverpool and Blackburn last weekend, the Choral Pilgrimage proceeds to Cambridge and St Albans next weekend, with concerts in St John's College Chapel on Friday (sponsored by Cambridge University Press) and St Albans Abbey on Saturday. Some - but not many - tickets still available.
Here is what Fiona Maddocks wrote in the Observer yesterday about the Victoria programme: 'For their Choral Pilgrimage 2011, which began in Oxford and travels to 31 venues until November, the Sixteen have chosen music devoted to the Virgin Mary by the Spanish Renaissance composer Victoria, marking his 400th anniversary. There is also a CD, Hail, Mother of the Redeemer. This virtuoso group can hardly improve on a superb opening performance. Singing at the crossing of Christ Church Cathedral, their interweaving of plainchant and polyphony soared to the holiest heights of this ancient building.'

Onwards to Liverpool

Our Choral Pilgrimage got off to a great start in Oxford and Norwich, with excellent reviews in The Times and the Guardian. Onwards now to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on Friday: tickets are just £15, available in advance from the Cathedral Gift Shop on 0151 707 3525 or at the door from 6.30pm on the night. And thence to Blackburn on Saturday.

Choral Pilgrimage starts

Our 2011 Choral Pilgrimage started in Oxford last night with a packed concert in Christ Church Cathedral; tonight our Tomas Luis de Victoria programme moves on to Norwich Cathedral at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from 01603 218323 and there will be some restricted view seats on sale at the door. An intense, very beautiful programme, with the poignant Litaniae Beatae Mariae to finish the concert as we think about our Japanese friends and the impact of the earthquake and tsunami.

The Victoria Collection

2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Tomás Luis de Victoria. This remarkable Spaniard epitomised the emotion and fervour of Renaissance Europe and is considered by many to be the most outstanding composer of his time.

The Sixteen’s new boxed set, The Victoria Collection, contains four of The Sixteen’s celebrated Victoria recordings: The Call of the Beloved, Requiem of 1605, Mystery of the Cross, and Devotion to our Lady.

The Call of the Beloved includes some of the earliest triple-choir music ever to be published and is a reminder of Victoria's joyous and passionate music, complementing his more austere Requiem and music for Holy Week.

The celebrated Requiem of 1605 is Victoria's final composition and a work of beguiling beauty and sumptuous simplicity – a true masterpiece. It can be seen as the summation of both his art and the Spanish Renaissance tradition. The beautiful plainsong on which it is structured can be heard arching through the texture, forming a delicate and sinuous line throughout. Subtly accompanied by a chamber organ and bajón, it is recorded here with the same forces as may well have performed it originally in the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales. The Requiem is preceded by Marian Antiphons interspersed with three motets setting texts from the Song of Songs

Devotion to our Lady showcases works for eight parts, some of them for two antiphonal choirs discreetly accompanied by organ and bajón, all displaying the magnificent fervent sonorities for which Victoria is renowned.

A beautifully packaged set, which complements perfectly the release of The Sixteen's newest recording by the composer - Hail, Mother of the Redeemer, also features some of the composer's Lamentations for Holy Week. What could make a more appropriate Easter gift?

Order online here.

Israel in Egypt - in Boston

A quick plug for Harry Christophers' 'other' choir and orchestra, the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston: he is conducting a performance of Handel's Israel in Egypt tomorrow afternoon (20 February) in Symphony Hall at 3pm. I gather there are a few tickets still available from the online box-office. This is one of Harry's favourite Handel oratorios, not least because of the incredible sequences of virtuosic choruses.
Harry's recording of Israel in Egypt can be ordered here.

Today's CD Review on BBC Radio 3

Too soon to put up an iPlayer link as the programme is still going on, but there was a great sequence of Spanish and Mexican choral music at the start of today's CD Review, including our own new recording of Victoria.

PHILIPPE ROGIER: Missa Domine Dominus Noster; Missa Domine in Virtute Tue etc.
Magnificat / His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts / Philip Cave (director)
Linn CKD 348 (Hybrid SACD)

“Hail, Mother of the Redeemer”
VICTORIA: Salve Regina; Missa Alma Redemptoris Mater etc.
The Sixteen / Harry Christophers (conductor)
Coro COR16088 (CD)

“O Virgo Benedicta”: Music of Marian Devotion
The Marian Consort / Rory McCleery (conductor)
DCD34086 (CD)

“Hanacpachap”: Latin American music at the time of the Conquistadores
Ensemble Elyma / Gabriel Garrido (conductor)
Pan Classics PC 10230 (CD)

The Choir on BBC Radio 3

When a list of the world's greatest choirs appeared in Gramophone magazine there was no shortage of controversy about who did, and did not, make the cut. On The Choir on BBC Radio 3 tonight at 6.45pm (and then available on iPlayer) Aled Jones picks his way through recordings by the top ten ensembles, and also takes a look at a rival list of no fewer than 1000 choirs. Plus, listeners share their own suggestions of groups who perhaps missed out. Hear a William Byrd track from CORO 16077 by The Sixteen, (and some other choirs...........!).

New release: Victoria

Our new CD of works by Victoria is now on sale via our shop. It is released to complement this year's Choral Pilgrimage tour which begins in Oxford on 11 March. The long-established tradition of devotion to the Virgin Mary resulted in some superb settings from Spanish composers. Tomás Luis de Victoria was, quite possibly, the most outstanding composer of the Renaissance and this recording features a tantalizing selection of the sumptuous music he wrote in honour of the Virgin Mary, including some of his exquisite Marian motets and the glorious Missa Alma Redemptoris Mater.

CORO at Midem

Just back from Midem in Cannes, the recording business' annual gathering. It's a chance to meet most of our international distributors face-to-face and to brief them on CORO's release plans for 2011. We were delighted that Harry Christophers was able to join us for a drinks reception to mark CORO's 10th birthday and to launch our new recording of music by Victoria which is released at the start of February.

The BPI Classical and Jazz stand is a friendly collection of rival labels! As you can see from the photo, CORO was in distinguished company.

Here's a list of our most popular releases from our new website shop.

The year ahead in pictures

.......courtesy of Gramophone.

A hit from 1568.....

A good piece by Ivan Hewett in the Telegraph on Spem in Alium: 'Take a look at Classic FM’s Hall of Fame, and there among the poll of listeners’ favourite classical pieces you’ll find a surprise. Coming in at number 89, just ahead of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and only just behind Albinoni’s Adagio, is Thomas Tallis’s sacred vocal work Spem in Alium Nunquam Habui – “I have no other hope (than God)”.Why should an immensely complex piece in a dead language have struck such a chord? Part of the reason is the current vogue for spiritual music, which has sent CDs of chants by Spanish monks and The Priests soaring up the album charts. But there is something extraordinary about this particular piece. It’s like an ocean of sound, where individual voices are glimpsed for a few seconds before they vanish back into the mass.' Read the full article here.

Our version is available on CORO - checkout our new online shop here.

Genesis Sixteen

Do you have a passion for choral singing? Are you aged 18 to 23? Would you like to make a career in ensemble singing?The Sixteen is seeking between 22 and 26 young singers aged from 18 to 23 to take part in an exciting new project called Genesis Sixteen.

Genesis Sixteen is The Sixteen’s new training programme which aims to nurture the next generation of talented young voices and specifically to bridge the gap from student to professional practitioner.

This is the UK’s first fully-funded choral programme for young singers and the idea is to identify and nurture students with exceptional musical ability and the potential to become professional ensemble singers, an area in which The Sixteen is internationally renowned. Routes into the world of professional choral singing are reducing in the UK, not least because Oxford and Cambridge choral scholarships are only available to those who obtain the very highest examination grades, and music conservatoires still tend to tailor their training towards solo careers.

During the course of a year, a series of intensive weekend and week-long courses for singers will be led by key artists from The Sixteen, including founder and conductor Harry Christophers. A unique partnership between The Sixteen and the Genesis Foundation means that the participants will receive a bursary for UK travel, accommodation and board costs while participating on the scheme’s four courses, around the UK.

"our priority is to identify the next generation of ensemble choral singers and to give them the opportunity to train at the highest level. We are delighted that the generosity of the Genesis Foundation has made this possible."

Harry Christophers

See full details on the Genesis Sixteen pages on our website.

Catherine of Aragon

Peterborough Cathedral, 29 January 2011, 7.30pm

An a capella programme of music by Cornysh, Taverner, Sheppard, Morales and Victoria. This event is in association with the Catherine of Aragon weekend celebrations; the 16th-century repertoire is focused around composers writing at the time of Catherine of Aragon in England and Spain.

Tickets: 01733 452 336

A Christmas break in Versailles

It's good to get some coverage in the non-music sections of the press - the Telegraph has recommended our Versailles performance of Messiah on 22 December in their travel pages. If you can't be in Paris then our Messiah CD-set is available directly from our website, along with many other possible stocking fillers!>

Allegri on BBC4 tonight

Our Sacred Music programme on Allegri's Miserere is being shown again on BBC 4 tonight at 8.30pm. Presented by Simon Russell Beale, it features a complete performance of the work. Harry Christophers conducts and Andy Robbins directs.

BBC Radio 3's Early Music Show

Listen to BBC Radio 3's Early Music Show on Saturday at 13.00, when Lucie Skeaping visits the Sallis Benney Theatre at Brighton University, as part of this year's Brighton Early Music Festival. She's joined by Eamonn Dougan and Sally Dunkley to talk about our Choral Pilgrimage. There will be live music from three young ensembles: The Artisans, I Flautisti and Ensemble Amaranthos.

Pilgrimage reaches Brighton

A great review from Friday's concert in Durham. There areonly two more opportunities to hear the 2010 Choral Pilgrimage programme, the next being on Friday in Brighton in the splendid St Batholomew's Church.

Durham Cathedral

Next stop on the Choral Pilgrimage is Durham Cathedral on Friday 15th at 7.30pm. It is renowned as a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture. It was begun in 1093 and largely completed within 40 years. It is the only cathedral in England to retain almost all of its Norman craftsmanship, and one of few to preserve the unity and integrity of its original design. And it has a fabulous acoustic and is one of the favourite places on our UK tour. Music by Sheppard, Byrd and Tallis, with a few tickets still available from 01904 651485.

Discovering Music

BBC Radio 3 features The Sixteen in the current Discovering Music programme, unravelling some of the works in our Choral Pilgrimage programme. Catherine Bott explores some of the joys of English polyphony with Harry Christophers, Sally Dunkley and The Sixteen in an exploration of music by Byrd, Tallis and Sheppard. The programme was recorded at the National Centre for Early Music in York as part of the 2010 York Early Music Festival and unpicks some of the working and ideas behind three contrasting masterpieces from 16th century English chuch music. William Byrd's "Infelix Ego" is a meditation on Psalm 50 written by the Italian friar Girolamo Savonarola shortly before his execution for heresy.

Thomas Tallis's short but intensely expressive "Miserere Nostri" is an intricate web of musical games and devices around the words "have mercy on us lord, have mercy on us".

Finally John Sheppard's "Media Vita" is a setting of plainsong and text based around the Nunc Dimittis, the traditional song for evening prayer, composed by Sheppard on an uniquely grand scale.

Harry Christophers, the director of The Sixteen, and Sally Dunkley who sings with the group and prepares many of The Sixteen's editions, discuss and illustrate with Catherine Bott some of musical thinking behind these pieces.

Listen here (until 3 October).