For the past 30 years Harry Christophers and his Sixteen choir have been reliable and often inspiring interpreters of Renaissance and Baroque choral music, whether putting their own stamp on the grossly familiar–Handel’s Messiah–or introducing us to eminently worthy but obscure repertoire by such early English composers as Fayrfax, Browne, Davy, Lambe, Cornysh, and Carver. (My favorite Messiah remains a rarely-mentioned live performance on Erato from 1983 with The Sixteen and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra led by Ton Koopman.) This ensemble and conductor even ventured into 20th-century music several times, offering classic renditions of the choral works of Benjamin Britten, among other composers.
The Sixteen has tackled Victoria before, notably on its own Coro label, and here the choir shows once again its mastery of style and confident ensemble technique, savoring the rich harmonies and executing Victoria’s reams of lovely lines with care for detail and requisite sensitivity to rhythm and dynamics in the shaping of phrases and cadences.
Although the Mass is the “big” piece, impressive as it is, for me highlights are the magnificent five-part motet Alma Redemptoris Mater, the intimate Ne timeas Maria, one of those rare, perfect marriages of text and music, and the joyous Gaude Maria, for which the singers give full measure of enthusiasm. The production, managed by legendary producer and engineer Mark Brown and Mike Hatch, was recorded at the very choral-friendly All Hallows Church in London. This is a must for every serious choral music library–and makes an excellent introduction to Victoria for those looking to explore the work of this inimitable Renaissance master.
