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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Palestrina, Vol. 9
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 2 jun. 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Byrd: Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets (1611)
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 7 okt. 2022
Gramophone: Recording of the Month24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Handel: Jephtha
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 sep. 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Messiah
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 1 sep. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Allegri : Miserere - Tallis : Lamentations of Jeremiah & other Renaissance Masterpieces
The Sixteen, Gabrieli Consort, Choir of King's College, Cambridge
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Francis Poulenc : Choral Works
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Religieuze vocale muziek - Released by The Sixteen Productions Ltd. on 27 jan. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina, Vol. 4
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 2 sep. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Palestrina Volume 6
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 jun. 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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A Watchful Gaze
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 3 mrt. 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Traditional Christmas Carols Collection
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Kerstmuziek - Released by Coro on 25 sep. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fauré Requiem (Live)
The Sixteen, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 1 jan. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (Volume 2)
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 okt. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Coronation Anthems
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 2 feb. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Palestrina, Vol. 7
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 1 sep. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina, Vol. 5
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 2 jun. 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
James MacMillan : Stabat Mater
Britten Sinfonia, The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Religieuze vocale muziek - Released by Coro on 3 mrt. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Masters of Imitation
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by CORO on 1 mrt. 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas with The Sixteen
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Klassiek - Released by Coro on 26 nov. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo