The Sixteen's Blog

Guitars, Manila

Lots to catch up on.  We had another successful visit to the Bath Mozartfest last weekend; we have been rehearsing for Handel’s Saul at the Barbican next Tuesday 22 November at 6.30pm (there are still just a few tickets available); and on Friday we are off to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester for the first of two concerts there as part of our residency this season.  It’s another great programme: Purcell’s Come ye sons of Art celebrates the birthday of Queen Mary and includes the duet Sound the Trumpet. Handel’s Eternal Source of Light comes from another Birthday Ode to an English Queen, while Dixit Dominus dates from his Italian period, characterised by its virtuoso voice-parts. Tickets for this are available here (again, not too many left) and tickets for our Choral Pilgrimage concert there on 5 June next year are also on sale.  The second part of our Genesis Sixteen project is also taking place in Manchester over the weekend, so we are looking forward to seeing the members again (watch the Genesis Sixteen ‘behind the scenes’ video).

I am recently back from the Federation of Asian Cultural Promotion conference in Manila. You can obviously only get a passing impression in the course of a short visit, but the Spanish music influence is still evident (hence the photo); I heard some brilliant guitar playing and also enjoyed a concert by the visiting Taipei Symphony Orchestra, which has a remarkable woodwind section; I heard a remarkable young Japanese pianist, Fuyuko Nakamura; but best of all was the FEU Bamboo Band. The interest in choral singing is huge in the Philippines, so we are working hard to get our CORO CDs distributed there. Some interesting points from discussions during the conference sessions: at the rate China is building concert halls (2137 already, 4000 within 5 years) The Sixteen could do a 50-concert Choral Pilgrimage tour every year for 80 years and still not visit them all; restrictions on performing Western/Christian choral musics are easing at present; and why did no Koreans turn up this year?

The Old Town, Manila

Screen 1, Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge

Another entry for our photo competition: my usual front row seat in Screen 1 at the Arts Picturehouse in Cambridge for the Cambridge Film Festival (including yesterday’s surprise show, the UK premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion)!

Our recording of Purcell’s Fairy Queen was the recommended CD version in BBC Radio 3′s CD Review on Saturday morning. You can listen to Simon Heighes’ analysis here: it’s about 30 minutes into the programme.