Taverner: Missa Corona Spinea

John Taverner brought the English florid style to its culmination and final flowering; his music is quite unlike anything written by his continental contemporaries and, viewed retrospectively, represents not only the culmination of one period but also the beginning of something new. In his debut recording with the critically acclaimed Edinburgh choir, Duncan Ferguson presents this music with forces akin to those of the 16th century - a small group of children and a larger number of men.The singers respond with their characteristic freshness, and an emotional authenticity born of the daily round of liturgical performance.

When The Sixteen embarked upon their recording career back in 1982, few would have been able to predict quite how successful they would become, or how far they would go towards rehabilitating the little-known and barely recorded music of these four master composers of the sixteenth century.

In this their 30th anniversary year, we join them in celebrating a Golden Age of Polyphony, and of music-making, by presenting their twelve discs of this repertoire in an attractively packaged (and priced) 10-CD remastered set.