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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Special Edition 3CD Set: Double CD plus Special Edition Bonus Disc of Handel
Carolyn Sampson, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Mark Padmore, Christopher Purves The Sixteen, Harry Christophers Hot on the heels of their landmark appearance on BBC Four’s Sacred Music programme Harry Christophers and his award-winning ensemble The Sixteen are releasing a brand new recording of Handel’s Messiah. On this disc The Sixteen and Harry Christophers are joined by four soloists, all revered Handelians who have had a long association with the choir - Carolyn Sampson, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Mark Padmore and Christopher Purves. Indeed, Carolyn, Mark and Christopher all sung as members of the choir before embarking on successful solo careers. The Sixteen has performed Messiah over 150 times and over the years the two have become synonymous with one another. Arguably the most famous oratorio ever written and certainly Handel’s best known work, Messiah needs little introduction. Composed in a staggering 24 days, Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742 where it received a rapturous welcome. Harry Christophers first conducted Messiah in 1985 and has been celebrated by audience and critics alike for his gripping and inventive interpretations ever since. Over the years ‘The Sixteen’s Messiah’ has become almost legendary with audiences flocking to performances year after year and, of course, Harry’s interpretation of this great masterpiece has changed and developed. This exceptional new recording demonstrates an accomplished expertise, honed over the past 23 years. “Smoothly yet energetically planed on the period instruments of the Sixteen orchestra and impeccably refined chorus, the text is lovingly caressed rather than ebulliently dramatised. The Hallelujah chorus is no rambunctious run, Part II's “lift up your heads” didactic rather than celebratory. Floating over the top are Carolyn Sampson's porcelain soprano, and the alto Catherine Wyn Rogers, whose He was Despised acquaints us with grief indeed.” The Times, 9th August 2008 **** | 
| Coro - COR16062 (CD - 3 discs) Normally: £16.49 (£14.03 ex. VAT) Special: £13.99 (£11.91 ex. VAT) |
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| |  | Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla - Streams of Tears
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers A disc dedicated to a master of the ‘New World’. Padilla was a composer of ‘New Spain’ - the country
we now call Mexico. Whilst born in Malaga in the late 1500s he emigrated to Puebla, Mexico in 1620
to compose music in the ‘New World’.
‘Streams of tears’ reflects not only the penitential nature of this programme, the tears shed for Christ
on the cross, but also that period in history known as the ‘Siglo de Oro’, when Spain and Portugal were
masters of the great ocean and in the process of discovering and developing new lands in the Americas
and Padilla is symbolic of this age. This was a time when the church had money as well as a great
appreciation of art in the service of the church not only in Europe but in the new cathedrals of Mexico.
The music of this period is as varied as it is distinctive, with a harmonic richness and colour that is
found nowhere else. “[de Padilla's] language has its roots in Renaissance polyphony, but it also contains more modern elements – a strong rhythmic drive, a feeling for colour and textural contrast. Everything in this set, music related to Christ’s Passion, possesses impressive grace and majesty, beautifully reflected in the gloriously phrased and blended singing of the Sixteen under Christophers.” Sunday Times, 18th May 2008 *** “Whether in the crisply exciting antiphonal exchanges of brilliant double-choir pieces, or in profoundly moving expressions of penitence and sorrow that include a superb Lamentations setting, the Sixteen's excellent performances suggest that, had [Padilla] stayed in Europe, he would be recognised as one of Spain's greatest masters of sacred polyphony.” The Telegraph, 10th May 2008 “The latest album from the Sixteen, usually one of Britain's finer vocal groups, lacks polish...Words are poorly enunciated and passion low in the Lamentations. There is occasionally clumsy articulation, a slightly rough texture in the voices and a sense that they are unused to singing as a choir. One almost suspects that, short of time perhaps, they were relying on their professionalism to pull them through. Only the most gullible of Aztecs would have been converted by this.” The Times, 10th May 2008 ** “Such reflective singing is alluring. But is misses the inherent energy of this South American tradition, (revealed superbly by Jeffrey Skidmore and Ex Cathedra on Hyperion). Nonetheless, this is a polished performance of less-familiar music.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2008 **** “…these works bring out the very best in The Sixteen, supple, powerful and full of colour.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2008 |
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| |  | Fauré - Requiem
Elin Manahan Thomas, Roderick Williams, Ruth Massey & Mark Dobell The Sixteen & Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Harry Christophers Recorded at the 2007 Mostly Mozart Festival at London’s Barbican Hall, this disc reflects the unique live experience of a concert performance that captivated its audience. “…the singers of The Sixteen evoked an unearthly expressiveness. Fauré once said: ‘here it was as if we had stumbled upon some private memorial, and caught a haunting glimpse of paradise.’"
The London Independent “The soloists form a well-balanced team, with Roderick Williams assured and expressive in his major solo in the Fauré, and Elin Manahan Thomas true in intonation and charming in gesture in 'Laudate Dominum'” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Treasures of Tudor England
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers “A tiny soundbite of heaven.” The Times “The Sixteen are on fine form in a repertory that often sees them at their most confident: Parson's Ave Maria, the best-known work here, is despatched with considerable polish, and White's five-part Lamentations are equally fluent (and what wonderful settings they are!). ” Gramophone Magazine, June 2008 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | A Mother’s LoveMusic For Mary
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Music from the Sistine Chapel
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | A Traditional Christmas Carol Selectionfrom The Sixteen
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers A collection of well-loved traditional Christmas Carols, perfect for creating a warm seasonal atmosphere and to sing along with. "Simple, sincere and thoroughly engaging" American Record Guide | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Renaissance PortugalSacred Music of Cardoso and Lôbo
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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The Sixteen, Harry Christophers | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Handel - Delirio AmorosoItalian Secular Cantatas
Ann Murray The Sixteen, The Symphony of Harmony and Invention, Harry Christophers | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Gramophone Magazine
Penguin Guide