Album

The Sixteen have had phenomenal success with their precise yet agreeable choral singing, especially in their native Britain; this release carries a strip billing the group as "the voices of Classic FM," the crossover network that has, depending on whom you ask, either saved classical music in Britain or destroyed it. Of course the truth is somewhere in between. The program here is innovative and sticks in your head—for this the Sixteen and director Harry Christophers deserve credit. The combination of short choral pieces by Henry Purcell and by contemporary composer James MacMillan is meant to assert some kind of gauzy continuity in British music. It works, but only with a bit of sleight of hand: Christophers makes Purcell sound quite a bit like MacMillan, whose extended harmonies are characteristic of contemporary choral repertoire. His music fits the Sixteen well, as recognized by commissioning the motet O bone Jesu; here the group explores his music in greater depth, including the powerful A Child's Prayer (track 8). This work originally commemmorated the Dunblane school massacre of 1996, and, tragically, it has lost none of its relevance. But it's the Purcell performances here that are really unusual. The Sixteen apply their sweet sound to every dissonance in the music, and this approach reveals just how many of them there are. That in turn links the music back to MacMillan. It all hangs together, and it's remarkably effective even if, for some, it may be just a bit artificial, especially with booklet notes that attempt to convince you that you're being religious when you listen to music whether you realize it or not.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1
Henry Purcell Composer Jehova, quam multi sunt, sacred song for tenor, bass, chorus and continuo, Z.135 Work Mark Dobell Tenor, Harry Christophers Conductor, Stuart Young Bass, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir
1	Jehova, quam multi sunt, sacred song for tenor, bass, chorus and continuo, Z.135	6:17			$0.99
Henry Purcell Composer Miserere Mei (canon a4), Z.109 Work Harry Christophers Conductor, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir
2	Miserere Mei (canon a4), Z.109	1:14			$0.99
Henry Purcell Composer Remember not, Lord, our offences, for chorus and organ, Z.50 (anthem) Work Harry Christophers Conductor, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir
3	Remember not, Lord, our offences, for chorus and organ, Z.50 (anthem)	3:02			$0.99
Henry Purcell Composer Beati omnes, for soprano, bass, chorus and continuo, Z.131 (hymn) Work Harry Christophers Conductor, Eamon Dougan Bass, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir, Elin Manahan Thomas Soprano
4	Beati omnes, for soprano, bass, chorus and continuo, Z.131 (hymn)	4:39			$0.99
James MacMillan Composer O bone Jesu, for a cappella chorus Work Mark Dobell Tenor, Harry Christophers Conductor, Ben Davies Bass, Kirsty Hopkins Alto, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir, Elin Manahan Thomas Soprano
5	O bone Jesu, for a cappella chorus	10:14			$0.99
Henry Purcell Composer Let mine eyes run down with tears, for soloists, chorus and organ, Z.24 (anthem) Work Mark Dobell Tenor, Harry Christophers Conductor, Eamon Dougan Bass, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir, Simon Berridge Tenor
6	Let mine eyes run down with tears, for soloists, chorus and organ, Z.24 (anthem)	8:17			$0.99
James MacMillan Composer Mitte manum tuam, motet for chorus (Strathclyde Motet) Work Harry Christophers Conductor, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir
7	Mitte manum tuam, motet for chorus (Strathclyde Motet)	3:14			$0.99
James MacMillan Composer A Child's Prayer, for treble, chorus & organ Work Harry Christophers Conductor, Kirsty Hopkins Soprano, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir, Grace Davidson Soprano
8	A Child's Prayer, for treble, chorus & organ	3:59			$0.99
James MacMillan Composer Sedebit Dominus Rex, motet for chorus (Strathclyde Motet) Work Harry Christophers Conductor, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir
9	Sedebit Dominus Rex, motet for chorus (Strathclyde Motet)	4:28			$0.99
Henry Purcell Composer O dive custos Auriacae domus (On the death of Queen Mary), for 2 sopranos and continuo, Z.504 Work Charlotte Mobbs Soprano, Harry Christophers Conductor, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir, Grace Davidson Soprano
10	O dive custos Auriacae domus (On the death of Queen Mary), for 2 sopranos and continuo, Z.504	7:07			$0.99
Henry Purcell Composer Burial Service (for the funeral of Queen Mary), Z.27 Work 13:32 Harry Christophers Conductor, Sixteen Choir Chorus/Choir
11	1.Man that is born of a woman	2:41			$0.99
12	2.In the midst of life	4:41			$0.99
13	3.Thou knowest, Lord	4:04			$0.99
14	3.Thou knowest, Lord	2:06			$0.99