The Sixteen by Holst, Warlock, Ireland, Todd, Gardner, John, Da Palestrina, Traditional, De Victoria, Lauridsen, Ives, C., Byrd, Davies, Walford, Alates (2014/2014), Dirigent Harry Christophers, Spitalfields Music, London, United Kingdom

World-renowned choir The Sixteen returns to Spitalfields with a programme of old and new music for the Christmas season. They explore how composers have used the words from the traditional Christian chant O magnum mysterium, often recited at Mass on Christmas morning, to create sumptuous harmonies, from Palestrina’s energetic six-voice polyphony, to Morten Lauridsen’s deeply spiritual interpretation of the text, described by the composer as “a quiet song of profound inner joy.” Alongside are favourite and less familiar works by British composers. These include John Ireland’s wistful carol The Holy Boy and Peter Warlock’s rich Bethlehem Down and much loved arrangements of traditional English Christmas carols.