The Crown of Thorns: Eton Choirbook Vol II

"Foreigners were astonished at the quality of English choirs. Theirs were 'the voices of angels', a tribute which The Sixteen deserves no less today." - Classic CD

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. 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.

The Sixteen is one of the jewels in the musical crown of Britain. Internationally recognised as one of the finest choirs of our time, it is admired for performances combining clarity and precision with beauty and dramatic intensity. It concentrates on the heritage of early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance and Baroque, and a diversity of twentieth century choral work. The choir is complemented for larger scale works by its orchestra, The Symphony of Harmony and Invention, and through it Harry Christophers brings fresh insights to the music of Purcell, Monteverdi, JS Bach and Handel. Many prize-winning recordings reflect the quality and inspiration of the group's work. The Sixteen now has its own record label, Coro , which makes available treasured releases of the past as well as new recordings and commissions. Each release contains a foreword written by Harry Christophers, and forms part of The Sixteen Edition on Coro. Coro now owns the entire recording output of The Sixteen on Collins Classics.

Recent years have seen the group's debuts at the Vienna Musikverein, the Brisbane, Covent Garden, Halle, Istanbul and Lucerne festivals, and at the Lisbon Opera in a new production of Monteverdi's "Il Ritorno d'Ulisse". In 2000 The Sixteen made a Choral Pilgrimage to the finest English cathedrals, returning pre-reformation music written for these buildings to its home. This met with a huge public response. In the last few months the group has made major tours of Japan and the USA, returning also to the Covent Garden Festival, New York's Lincoln Center, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall and London's Barbican Centre. The coming season sees debuts at the Scarlatti Festival, Italy, Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris, Mathias Church, Budapest and return visits to the Bath and Halle festivals.