The Sixteen
The Sixteen has established itself as an elite ensemble in the world of choral music. Acclaimed for its interpretation of music from the Renaissance and the Baroque, the Sixteen has also ventured forward in time to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The ensemble has reached audiences across the globe through its performances, recordings, and outreach initiatives.
The Sixteen was founded in 1977 by Harry Christophers as a nameless choir, adopting the "Sixteen" name and giving its first billed concert in 1979. The ensemble's concept from its inception was to perform the music of the English polyphony through contemporary choral music. Christophers created a period-instrument ensemble for the Sixteen as well, dubbed at different times as the Orchestra of the Sixteen and the Symphony of Harmony & Invention; the ensemble is essential to the Sixteen's performance of the oratorios, odes, and operas of composers such as Handel, Monteverdi, and Purcell. The ensemble premiered Sir Harrison Birtwistle's opera Gawain at Covent Garden in 1991, and it has toured extensively, regularly performing throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The ensemble has made recordings almost from the beginning of its existence, recording for Hyperion, Chandos, and Virgin Classics, among others. The Sixteen has won several awards, including the 1992 Gramophone Award for The Rose and the Ostrich Feather: Music from the Eton Choirbook, Vol. 1, as well as the Diapason d'Or and Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.
Beginning in 2000, the Sixteen annually tours England with a concert series titled the Choral Pilgrimage. In 2001, the group established the Coro label, where it has since issued its recordings. In 2009, Classic FM named the Sixteen "Artist of the Year." Since 2010, the ensemble has worked with the Genesis Foundation in the U.K., which has fostered a youth program, Genesis Sixteen. The foundation also commissioned a new work for the Sixteen, James MacMillan's Stabat Mater, which the ensemble premiered in 2016; it has also been featured on the BBC series Sacred Music. In 2017, the group embarked on its first tour of China. In 2019, the Sixteen celebrated its 40th anniversary with 40, an album of highlights from the group's recordings. The Sixteen has continued adding to its prolific recording catalog, issuing multiple albums each year, including four in 2021 alone. In 2022, it issued An Old Belief (the same title was used for that year's Choral Pilgrimage), featuring music by Hubert Parry, Thomas Campion, and Cecilia McDowall.
© Keith Finke /TiVo
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Hodie - An English Christmas Collection
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 jan. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christus Natus Est: An Early English Christmas
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 25 mei 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Renaissance. Music for Inner Peace
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Decca (UMO) on 27 sep. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ikon (Music for the Spirit & Soul)
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers, Huw Williams, Charles Fullbrook
Vocale muziek (wereldlijk en religieus) - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Allegri: Miserere - Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 jul. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Traditional Christmas Carol Collection, Vol. II (The Sixteen - Harry Christophers)
Klassiek - Released by The Sixteen Productions Ltd. on 27 sep. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heinrich Schütz: Musikalische Exequien
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 9 nov. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Royal Welcome Songs for King Charles II Volume III
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 4 sep. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tallis: Sacred Choral Works
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Koormuziek - Released by Chandos on 1 mei 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love's Goddess Sure Was Blind
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 jan. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Victoria Requiem 1605
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 1 aug. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A New Heaven
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 jan. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Traditional Christmas Carol Collection from The Sixteen
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 jan. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Messiah, HWV 56
Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, The Sixteen
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 16 jul. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Fairy Queen
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 1 jul. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Ceremony Of Carols - Britten Choral Works II
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 jan. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Händel : Saul
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers, Christopher Purves
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 3 sep. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Poetry in Music
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 25 sep. 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Royal Welcome Songs for King James II
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 sep. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ein Deutsches Requiem
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 28 aug. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo