Handel's Messiah needs no introduction. This mighty yet majestic masterpiece is the most popular oratorio ever written and includes, arguably, the most famous chorus of all time-the iconic Hallelujah! Handel was a master chorus writer and for Messiah he certainly pulled out all the stops, placing the choir front and centre throughout. Although it has become synonymous with Christmas, Messiah was originally written as an Easter offering, bursting onto the stage of the Musick Hall in Dublin in April 1742. Taken from it's Award-winning 2008 complete recording of Messiah (COR16062), this collection from The Sixteen celebrates the wonderful choruses that have given so many singers, both amateur and professional, such joy and inspired an enduring love for this epic work.

In an age of resurgent conflict and frenetic demands on our attention, Angel of Peace offers a slice of tranquillity in many forms courtesy of luminous, purifying music traversing six centuries. This album centres on the power and beauty of poetry in music, bringing together the exquisite simplicity of the songs of 12th-century Abbess Hildegard of Bingen with John Taverner's joyous large scale antiphons composed some 400 years later. Leap forward to more recent times and we hear new settings by Will Todd and Anna Clyne of words by Cardinal Newman and Rainer Maria Rilke. Commissioned for solo violin with choir, both works heighten the intensity of the poetry through the fascinating musical dialogue between strings and voice. Arvo Part, marking his 90th birthday, brings us full circle with his serene clarity. These timeless voices resonate with our deepest need for stillness and with each work we hope to share a moment of peace and connection through the timeless language of music.

Recognizing the centenary of the Anglo-Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford's death, this new album from The Sixteen includes a number of premiere recordings of his Irish Folksongs and Partsongs.

Stanford is celebrated both nationally and internationally as a composer of great diversity. He composed a substantial number of concert works, including seven symphonies, but he is best-remembered for his choral works. Stanford's writing for voices is exquisite and his imaginative storytelling is ever-present in his Irish Folksongs where he captures everything from fiery revenge to passionate love with equal effectiveness.

Stanford's dedication to the poetry of Mary Elizabeth Coleridge also stands out-he was drawn to the lyricism of her poetry and the imagery she conjures up-something that is clearly heard in his Opus 127 settings. Much of her poetry is marked by a sense of loss and change, nowhere better portrayed than in The Guest with its unsettling narrative.

Harry Christophers has been at the forefront of choral music for the last 45 years and this album, in celebration of his 70th birthday, demonstrates the breadth of his musical passions and the wealth of repertoire he has recorded over the years. Featuring 39 tracks hand-picked by the conductor, the works on this collection document Harry Christophers' life in music-from his early years as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, through his time at Magdalen College, Oxford, and subsequent founding of The Sixteen, to more recent years as Artistic Director of America's renowned Handel and Haydn Society. This collection charts his discovery as a boy of Purcell and Poulenc to his enduring love for the music of Victoria and Handel and his celebrated partnership with James MacMillan. Each track holds special significance and the stories behind the choices are documented in notes especially written by Harry Christophers for this album.

Palestrina’s music is exquisite and sumptuous — characterised by a richness of texture and purity of sound. From his sacred Masses to settings of the secular Song of Songs, The Sixteen brings this serene and delicate soundworld to sparkling life.

Palestrina was a towering figure in Renaissance polyphony and arguably the greatest composer of liturgical music of all time. For nearly half a millennium his legacy and impact on sacred music worldwide has been second to none. The Sixteen continues its acclaimed series exploring a selection of his massive output, with this volume featuring the richly sonorous Missa Ut re mi fa sol la at its heart. The Sixteen also shines a spotlight on some of the glorious music Palestrina wrote for St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist.

William Byrd was one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance. He was widely admired in his own time both at home and abroad and the influence he had on future generations of composers was immense. This programme explores the music of his influences, his colleagues and his pervading faith. In his 400th anniversary year, Byrd’s legacy is marked by the commission of two new pieces from acclaimed composer Dobrinka Tabakova, bringing his musical heritage firmly into the modern day. The two premieres, Arise Lord into thy rest and Turn our captivity, highlight the beauty of modern polyphony and showcase The Sixteen in a new light. The programme also features works by Van Wilder, de Monte, Clemens Non Papa and, of course, Byrd himself.

Bach’s four Lutheran Masses feature almost no Lutheran material at all. Sometimes called ‘Missa brevis’, musically they are almost entirely made up of movements borrowed from Bach’s Cantatas. While often overshadowed by the more famous Mass in B minor, the beauty of these short Masses is that they represent Bach’s own choice of his finest Cantata movements. Despite their exquisite beauty, featuring splendid choruses and deeply moving arias, there are relatively few recordings of the Masses. This collection combines The Sixteen’s recordings into one collection. Just eight singers join The Sixteen’s orchestra to perform the Masses, allowing the beauty of the virtuosic vocal lines to be heard with absolute clarity.

An Old Belief introduces Hubert Parry's emotional and heartfelt Songs of Farewell, which surely rank among some of the finest choral works ever written. Deeply affected by the First World War, Parry sought poetry that would reflect not only peace and unity and the search for a better world, but also an escape from the horrors of war. The poems Parry chose to set are sublime, be they metaphysical poetry by John Donne and Henry Vaughan or the aching beauty of Thomas Campion’s verse. Perfectly complimenting the rich sonority of Parry’s Songs are three short pieces by Campion, a selection of medieval carols and a new work by award-winning composer Cecilia McDowall.

Classical Music