The result of a brand new collaboration between two of the finest modern day exponents of classical music, this exquisite disc brings fresh lifeblood to Fauré's peerless 'Requiem' and injects imaginative invention and poetic phrasing into two of Mozart's choral masterpieces. 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. Conducted by Harry Christophers, The Sixteen and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields are joined by four soloists for this recording. '...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

R E V I E W S:

"This is a live recording of a concert given at last year’s Mostly Mozart festival...Despite its title, Mozart’s pithy Solemn Vespers mostly bristle with a joyous, late-Haydn-like energy, though the lilting Laudate dominum is an expressive high point within the psalm sequence. The solemnity comes with Fauré’s Requiem and the curtain-raiser, Mozart’s late motet Ave verum corpus, which are expressive and both emotionally and spiritually profound. Harry Christophers, the Sixteen and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields straddle the styles and approaches impressively. Roderick Williams is an excellent, rich-toned baritone soloist, while Ruth Massey conveys just the right measure of fragility in her Pie Jesu."
-- Stephen Pettitt, Sunday Times (London) [3/9/2008]