Review: A fascinating history of Christmas music! CORO brings the next installment of the BBC s groundbreaking TV series, Sacred Music, to DVD. This documentary and concert performance follows The Sixteen and Simon Russell Beale as they explore the history of Christmas music. The story takes us through two millennia of music, from a fragment of papyrus preserving the earliest known piece of Christian music to the stories behind some of our most popular carols. Russell Beale also presents a special Christmas concert featuring full performances of some of the works featured in the documentary performed by Harry Christophers and his award-winning choir, The Sixteen. Bonus features include seven free audio tracks, trailers for Sacred Music: Series One and Sacred Music: An Easter Celebration, biographies, and related CD information.

Songlist: Make us merry, Hodie Christus natus est, O magnum mysterium, In dulci jubilo, There is no rose, Make we joy now in this fes, Hark! The herald angels sing, A spotless rose, In the bleak mid-winter, O magnum mysterium, Silent Night

Review: Most critics consider Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) the most eminent English composer of the twentieth century. His works include masterpieces of choral, operatic, orchestral and chamber music. The works on this album show some of the breadth and range of Britten's choral writing, embracing the masque from his opera Gloriana, his own take on the English part song tradition in Five Flower Songs, and his last work for unaccompanied voices, Sacred and Profane. The latter sets medieval texts described herein as "a mixture of the devotional and the rumbustiously secular". The Sixteen is one of the jewels in the musical crown of Britain, and enjoys a worldwide reputation for clarity and beauty with precision and dramatic intensity. Founded in 1977 by its director, Harry Christophers, its albums have received nearly every major prize of the recording industry including the prestigious Gramophone Award for Early Music. The Sixteen's special reputation for early English polyphony! , masterpieces of the Renaissance, and a diversity of twentieth century music is founded on a naturalness of performance, a revealing clarity and beauty of sound, precision, and a dramatic intensity of delivery. To date, The Sixteen and The Symphony of Harmony and Invention have made over 90 recordings, many award-winning, in a range of work spanning the music of 600 years, rediscovering and performing lost and little-known repertoire.

Songlist: Choral Dances From 'Gloriana', The Masque Begins, First Dance: Time, Second Dance: Concord, Third Dance: Time and Concord, Fourth Dance: Country Girls, Fifth Dance: Rustics and Fishermen, Sixth Dance: Final Dance of Homage, Advance Democracy, Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard, A Wedding Anthem, To Daffodils, The Succession of the Four Sweet Months, Marsh Flowers, The Evening Primrose, Ballad of Green Broom, St Godric's Hymn, I mon waxe wod, Lenten is come, The long night, Yif ic of luve can, Carol, Ye that passen by, A death

Review: This 90-minute concert was especially recorded at LSO St. Luke's in London as a finale to the Sacred Music TV series. The concert, performed by Harry Christophers & The Sixteen and presented by Simon Russell Beale, features a selection of glorious music from the Sacred Music series culminating in Allegri's famous "Miserere." Playable in all regions. Approximate run time 90 minutes.

Songlist: Vexilla Regis, Gloria from Missa Papae Marcelli, Viderunt omnes, Super flumina Babylonis, Quomodo cantabimus?, Komm, Jesu, komm, Salvator mundi, salva nos, Ye sacred muses, Stabat Mater, Agnus Dei from Mass For Four Voices, Haec Dies, Miserere, Assumpta est Maria

Review: Fascinating stories, beautiful architecture, and some of the greatest music ever written-CORO brings the BBC's groundbreaking TV series to DVD! The complete first series charts the fascinating history of sacred music from the Notre Dame School to Johann Sebastian Bach. Presented by celebrated actor and former chorister Simon Russell Beale, this DVD also features Harry Christophers and his award-winning group, The Sixteen. Filmed on location across Europe, from Rome and Paris to Leipzig and London. Bonus features include extra tracks by The Sixteen, a preview of Sacred Music: An Easter Concert Harry, Christophers' Top 10 recordings, biographies, images, and much more.

Songlist: The Gothic Revolution, Palestrina and The Popes, Tallis, Byrd and The Tudors, Bach and The Lutheran Legacy

Review: The definitive album of household favorite carols, beautifully and expertly sung. This collection of well-loved traditional Christmas carols is perfect for creating a warm seasonal atmosphere, and to sing along with. The Sixteen is one of the jewels in the musical crown of Britain, and enjoys a worldwide reputation. Founded in 1977 by director Harry Christophers, its eighty CDs have received nearly every major prize of the recording industry, including the prestigious Gramophone Award for Early Music. The Sixteen's special reputation for early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, and a diversity of twentieth century music is founded on a naturalness of performance, a revealing clarity and beauty of sound, precision, and a dramatic intensity of delivery.

Songlist: The First Noel, Once in Royal David's City, The Sussex Carol, While Shepherds Watched, I saw Three Ships, Angels from the Realms Of Glory, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, Rocking, In Dulci Jubilo, Ding Dong! Merrily On High, In the Bleak Midwinter, Good King Wenceslas, Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly, The Holly and the Ivy, God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, See Amid the Winter's Snow, Coventry Carol, O Come all Ye Faithful, Hark! The Herald Angels

Review: Some of the most celebrated recordings from Harry Christophers and his award-winning ensemble, in a beautiful 2-CD digipak set. Equally appealing to fans of The Sixteen as well as listeners who are unfamiliar with the group, this set provides a definitive collection of familiar classics and lesser-known treasures.

Songlist: Magnificat anima mea Dominum, Sel. from Mass in B minor, Chorales from Cantatas Nos. 147 & 50, Ave verum corpus, Laudate Dominum, Spem in alium, Man that is born of a woman, Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts, Zadok the Priest, "I will sing unto the Lord" & "Moses and the children of Israel" from Israel in Egypt, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah, "Let the bright seraphim" from Samson, Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, Crucifixus, A Hymn to the Mother of God, The Lamb, Chorus from "The Lark", Spring Song, "Pie Jesu" from Requiem, A Hymn to Saint Columba, Advance Democracy, Miserere, Kyrie from Missa Papae Marcelli, Deus in Adiutorium, Agnus Dei, Gloria in Excelsis Deo from Gloria

Review: Britten's A Ceremony of Carols is a masterpiece composed on board ship as Britten returned to England from the U.S.A. in 1948, a touching evocation of boyhood lost but never forgotten. A Boy was Born is a work that first made Britten famous, based on a theme and variations of astonishing ingenuity. The Missa Brevis, written for the boys of Westminster Cathedral, is a gem that in some ways looks forward to the War Requiem which came two years later. 69 minutes.

Songlist: A Ceremony of Carols, Missa Brevis in D, A Boy Was Born

Review: The haunting tones of Allegri's Miserere are uniquely and instantly recognizable even to those who know little sacred music. It was only ever sung in the Sistine Chapel, where Allegri himself was a chorister. Palestrina had sung there before Allegri was born and his best-known work is Miss Papae Marcelli. Like his Stabat Mater it combines exquisite poise with a translucent setting of words. Chromaticism and blossoming cadences are employed to heart-rending effect in Lotti's eight-part Crucifixus in a unique blend of 16th and 18th century musical styles.

Songlist: Crucifixus, Stabat mater Dolorosa, Miserere Mei, Missa Papae Marcelli, - Kyrie, - Gloria, Credo, - Sanctus and Benedictus, - Agnus Dei I, - Agnus Dei II

Review: The vast power of the Royal Courts of England and Scotland may be long gone but the sumptuous sounds of their worship are not lost. This disc brings together music of some of the most outstanding but now little-known composers of the 15th and 16th centuries, and introduces a major new work by one of this century's most remarkable composers, James Macmillan. Robert Carver's mesmeric setting of the devotional text "O bone Jesu" has long been admired and has now proved an inspiration to James MacMillan who has chosen with this special commission for The Sixteen, to clothe the same text in his own musical language of reflective beauty. "This 25th Anniversary CD is a delight, and like all great recordings it gets better the more you listen to it." - BBC Radio 3, CD Review

Songlist: Dum Sacrum Mysterium, Credo From Mass, O Bone Jesu, When David Heard, In Monte Oliveti, O Vos Omnes, How Are The Mighty Fallin', Salve Regina, Ave Maria Mater Dei, O Bone Jesu

Review: This collection of American choral music spanning the 20th century features familiar and less well-known composers, from the lyrical traditionalism of Barber by way of Bernstein and Copland to the counterpoint, rhythmic verve and neo-classicism of Irving Fine. The disc finishes with the dreamily haunting Acrostic Song from Final Alice by David del Tredici.

Songlist: Agnus Dei, O Know To End As To Begin, Have You Seen The White Lily Grow?, O Do Not Wanton With Those Eyes, Against Jealousy, Lament, The Hour-Glass, Clapping Music, Spring Song, Court Song, Soldier's Song, Prelude, Benedictus, Sanctus', Requiem, Gloria, Help Us, O Lord, Thou, O Jehovah, Abideth Forever, Have Mercy On Us, O My Lord, Sing Ye Praises To Our King, Mary Hynes, Anthony O Daly, The Coolin, Acrostic Song From "Final Alice"

Review: A fine collection of Christmas music from medieval and renaissance Europe by this highly accomplished choir under the direction of Harry Christophers. Many works from England including the stunning Tallis composition "Videte Miraculuum' and several carols from Europe including those by Jacob Handl, Jean Mouton and Orlandus Lassus.

Songlist: Puer Natus Est Nobis, Nowell Nowell In Bethlehem, Gaudete, Nesciens Mater, The Song Of The Nuns Of Chester, Coventry Carol, The Boar's Head Carol, Videte Miraculum, Quem Pastores Laudavere, Pueri Concinite, O Magnum Mysterium, Resonet In Laudibus, In Dulci Jubilo, Riu, Riu, Chiu, Nesciens Mater, Omnes De Saba

Review: Amongst the exhaustive catalogue of recordings devoted to Christmas music, this particular example - focusing on works written in England during the Middle Ages and Renaissance - can be warmly recommended indeed. The performances, as ever by this superb choir, are polished and beautifully executed, and the program is varied both in terms of the selection of pieces (carols, motets, ballads, chant...) and also in the interpretations (usually choir or consort but sometimes 1 singer, occasionally accompanied by instruments - harp, lute, rebec/fiddle, drums). Furthermore, a number of the tracks constitute probably the best available performances of certain works.

Songlist: Verbum caro, Salutation Carol, Nowell, sing we, both all and some, Gaudete, Hail Mary full of Grace, Gloria in excelsis, There is no rose, Nowell, nowell: Out of your sleep, Remember O thou man, Quid petis, O Fili?, Sweet was the song, Lullaby my sweet little baby, Are rex angelorum, Drive the cold winter away, Nowell, nowell: The boares head, The old year now has passed away, Angelus ad Virginem, Nowell, nowell: Dieu vous garde, Make we joy, Verbum caro

Review: Music from a turning point in history .... the short-lived marriage between Mary Tudor and Philip II of Spain, although barren and doomed, resulted in a glorious flowering of Anglo-Spanish music which saw the greatest musicians from the two nations meeting and working together. The music for a flamboyant Christmas Day ceremony in St. Paul's Cathedral in 1554 was a celebratory focal point of an extraordinary resurgence of the Catholic faith in England, fuelled by hopes, soon to be dashed, that Mary was pregnant.

Songlist: Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599): Ave Virgo sanctissima, Thomas Tallis (1505-1585): Suscipe quaeso, Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611):, O Vos Omnes, - Vere languores, - O Domine Iesu Christe, Thomas Tallis: Agnus Dei from mass "Puer natus", Tomas Luis de Victoria:, - Super flumina Babylonis, - Vadam et circuibo, - Laudate Dominum omes gentes, John Sheppard (1500-1558): Verbum caro, Philippe de Monte (1521-1603): Super flumina Babylonis, William Byrd (1543-1623): Quomodo catabimus

Review: Frank Martin was arguably Switzerland's greatest composer. His shimmering Mass for Double Choir, completed in 1926 as 'an affair between God and himself', is one of the finest settings of the 20th century, yet it had to wait forty-one years to be shared with others in its first performance. This collection of his choral music also includes his cantata for Switzerland's National Day and the Ode to Music, along with some charming part-songs. Eclectic and technically superb these pieces display a style that is serenely individual.

Songlist: Cantate pour le 1er Aožt, Janeton, Petite eglise, Si Charlotte avait voulu, Come unto these yellow sands, Full fathom five, Before you can say, You are three men of sin, Where the bee sucks, Sonnet, Le coucou, Ode, Le petit village, Ode a la Musique, Kyrie eleison, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei

Review: The recordings of The Sixteen have been treasured by collectors of superb choral music Hodie is a beautifully programmed disc of seasonal music from England's greatest composers Featured are perennial favorites by William Walton, Edmund Rubbra, John Tavener, Herbert Howells, and Peter Warlock and as a very special centerpiece, one of the all time critically acclaimed performances of Benjamin Britten's ever-popular A Ceremony of Carols.

Songlist: Make we joy now in this fest, Coventry Carol, A babe is born, The Virgin's Cradle Song, A Hymn to the Virgin, The Lamb, A Ceremony of Carols , Sing Lullaby, Lute book lullaby, A Spotless Rose, Corpus Christi, Balulalow, Benedicamus Domino, Tomorrow shall be my dancing day

Review: Despite the mystic beauty of his music, John Tavener's place in Western music is a controversial one. His desire to create musical ikons for a time in which he believes 'man has lost his belief not only in God, but also in himself' is provocative. Yet part of the attraction of his music must surely arise from its symbolic nature, a reflection of his deeply-held Orthodox faith. This collection cvers a wide range of Tavener's celebrated choral output and includes his immediately popular setting of William Blake's The Lamb, and the luminously spiritual, Ikon of Light.

Songlist: A Hymn to the Mother of God, Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God, The Lamb, The Tyger, Ikon of Light, Fos I, Doxa, piu intensita, Trisagion, Mystic Prayer To The Holy Spirit, Trisagion, Fos, Today the Virgin, Eonia

Review:

Songlist: Spem in alium, Te lucis ante terminum, O nata lux, The Lamentations ofJeremiah:, I Incipit lamentatio Jeremiae prophetae, II De lamentatione Jeremiae phophetae, O Sacrum Convivium, Jesu salvator saeculi, Salvator mundi, salva nos, Loquenbantur variis linguis, Gaude glorioa Dei Mater

Review: Newly recorded in the round and in surround sound, Thomas Tallis' 40-part motet, Spem in alium, one of the great landmarks of polyphony, forms the centre-piece of this dazzling CD. Under the theme, Music for Monarchs and Magnates' The Sixteen draws together music by Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins, some of it never before recorded, some indeed not performed since the time of its writing. It explores the use of music for ceremonial, even propaganda purposes by the state, contrasted with the composers' private use of biblical texts to give public vent to their own sometimes dangerous views in an England torn by political and religious strife. Alongside the usual 40 voice setting of Spem in Alium is an English version of the same work - Sing and Glorify - which was adapted to an English text for King James I to honour his son Henry, the newly-annointed Prince of Wales. With cornetts, sackbuts, dulcians and organs in place of some voices, this is a glorious complement to the usual version.

Songlist: Spem in Alium, O all true faithful hearts, Deus venerunt gentes, Know you not, Great King of Gods (Lord of Lords), O God, the heathen are come, Te Deum, Be Strong and of A Good Courage, Spem in Alium (also set as "Sing and glorify")

Review: This new recording features the celebrated Requiem of 1605, Victoria's final composition, a work of beguiling beauty and sumptuous simplicity. It can be seen as the summation of both his art and the Spanish Renaissance tradition. The beautiful plainsong on which it is structured can be heard arching through the texture, forming a delicate and sinuous line throughout. Subtly accompanied by a chamber organ and bajon, it is recorded here with the same forces as may well have performed it originally in the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales. The Requiem is preceded by Marian Antiphons interspersed with three motets setting texts from the Song of Songs.

Songlist: Salve Regina, Ave Regina caelorum, Nigra sum, Quam pulchri sunt, Trahe me post te, Ave Regina caelorum a, Taedet animam meam, Missa pro defunctis a 6 Introit, Kyrie, Gradual, Offertory, Sanctus & Benedictus, Agnus Dei, Communion, Funeral motet: Versa est in luctum, Responsory: Libera me

Review: The great Spanish composer and priest, Victoria, devoted his life to writing supremely uplifting and intense music throughout the church calendar. The Call of the Beloved includes some of the earliest triple-choir music ever to be published and is a reminder of Victoria's joyous and passionate music, complementing his more austere Requiem and music for Holy Week. "If one can ever achieve complete emotional expression through the power of music, then here it is." - Harry Christophers. "This is a beautifully prepared and rewarding recording that deepens our appreciation of one of the greatest masters of the renaissance." - Gramophone

Songlist: Motet: Laetatus sum a 12, Missa: Laetatus sum a 12, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, Hymn: Veni creator spiritus a 4, Motet: Vadam et circuibo civitatem a 6, Motet: Vidi speciosam a 6, Hymn: Ad caenam Agni providi a 4, Magnificat Sexti toni a 12

Review: Brand new recording by one of the most celebrated ensembles in the world features distinguished soloists revered for their performances of Handel. "What a winning combination: Handel's Messiah, the most popular oratorio ever written, sung by The Sixteen, the most richly sonorous of early music choirs." -The Telegraph. "The Sixteen are on fine form in a repertory that sees them at their most confident." - Gramophone

Songlist: Messiah (complete oratorio), Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon, The Lord our enemy has slain from Esther, Nell dolce dell'obblio, Harp Concerto in B-flat, Op. 4, No. 6 from Alexander's Feast, Sinfonia to Act 2 of Ariodante, Scherza infida from Ariodante, Let the Bright Seraphim from Samson