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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The Wedding Collection: Music for Weddings and Civil Ceremonies
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by CORO on 28 Aug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
à la Gloire de Dieu
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by CORO on 20 Jun 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Royal Manuscripts : The Genius of Illumination (Medieval & Renaissance Music inspired by the British Library Exhibition)
Classical - Released by The Sixteen Productions Ltd. on 30 Apr 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music from the Sistine Chapel
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by CORO on 26 Feb 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bright Orb of Harmony
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Coro on 31 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Rose and The Ostrich Feather: Eton Choirbook Volume I
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Coro on 28 May 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Philip & Mary: A Marriage of England & Spain
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Coro on 1 Mar 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Flowering of Genius
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Coro on 1 Oct 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J. S. Bach: Lutheran Masses, Vol. 1
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by CORO on 30 Sep 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Edmund Rubbra
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Coro on 2 Sep 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Music of the Kingdom (Tallis - Byrd - Purcell - Handel)
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Coro on 31 Mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Chandos Anthems, Vol. 1
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers, Sixteen Orchestra, The, Ian Partridge, Lynne Dawson, George Michael
Masses, Passions, Requiems - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Devotion to Our Lady
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by CORO on 16 Jun 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
An Eternal Harmony
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Coro on 1 Oct 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
William Mundy: Sacred Choral Music
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 6 Jul 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel : Dixit Dominus - Steffani : Stabat Mater
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by The Sixteen Productions Ltd. on 28 Sep 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Call of the Beloved
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by CORO on 20 Jul 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Marcin Mielczewski
Classical - Released by CORO on 29 Sep 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach : Lutheran Masses, Vol. 2
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Coro on 3 Mar 2014
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Voices of Angels: Eton Choirbook Volume V
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by Coro on 1 Jul 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo