Voices kissed by angels
Conducted by Harry Christophers, The Fair Maiden is The Sixteen’s Christmas Carol this year at Cadogan Hall and in Cambridge. For decades, The Sixteen have excelled not only as one of the world’s leading choirs, but also as a textbook example of programming. The Fair Maiden is a devotion to a myriad of composers across centuries, from late-Renaissance writer Rafaella Aleotti (c1570-c1646), to contemporary composer Lucy Walker (c.1998) associated with St Martin’s Voices. Although these composers are much varied in times and styles, the programme is unified both through a chronological order and through The Sixteen’s magical voice.
Consist of six sopranos (Julie Cooper, Katy Hill, Kirsty Hopkins, Alexandra Kidgell, Charlotte Mobbs and Ruth Provost), four altos (Daniel Collins, Edward McMullan, Elisabeth Paul and Kim Port), four tenors (Tom Castle, Mark Dobell, Steven Harrold and George Pooley) and four bass (Ben Davies, Tim Jones, Rob Macdonald and Stuart Young), the Sixteen’s sound is rich in its gentleness and restraint, so warmly blended and well controlled. Both the sopranos and tenors showcased beautiful, floating light mix while the basses maintain the low-pitch range in great precision, not in quantity but in quality.
The four altos, though have lesser parts at the night, were no less integral than any other section of the choir. In The Shepherd’s Carol (Bob Chilcott), the alto line enters between verses of sopranos and basses, smoothing the passage in-between and maintaining a unified timbre across ranges. This might be technically demanding if it were a single voice, but here, it is achieved collectively as a seamless vocal continuum.
While most of the songs are serene and holy, there were also exceptions. The Cherry Tree Carol is a traditional English carol that showcases a more humane side of both Joseph and Mary with a more gender-twisted relation. Joseph is suspicious at Mary’s loyalty, while Mary responds with dignity and rare resistance. However, instead of dealing its sophisticated gender dynamic, The Sixteen treated it with a touch of irony and gentle humour.
It is also astonishing to see that while most songs are from the well-loved repertoire, the programme makes space for new voices in contemporary Christmas carol composition. There were two modern works by Lucy Walker, Ave virgo sanctissima and The Angel’s Song are performed. The Sixteen performs these songs with exceptional purity and clarity, carrying a fine choral resonance. Most of all, while they are not loud in volume, the chorus saturated the auditorium of Cadogan hall with unparalleled expressive power and quiet intensity.