The Sixteen's Blog

God's Composer on BBC Four

BBC FOUR’s Sacred Music journey continues with this special celebration marking the 400th anniversary of the death of the Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria. Interwoven with Victoria’s music, this documentary follows Simon Russell Beale as he takes us through the life and times of Victoria. the music was recorded in the glorious setting of the Church of San Antonio de los Alemanes in Madrid, founded in 1606 by Philip II in Victoria’s lifetime.

This is an opportunity to celebrate Victoria’s life and his creations, some of the greatest work of the late renaissance and the Spanish Golden Age.

It brings to an end the tremendous year we have had singing this wondrous music, with over 30 concert performances in the UK and 6 in Spain, and the release of our latest Victoria CD: Hail, Mother of the Redeemer.

You can see it tonight on BBC Four at 20.00 or tomorrow morning at 02.30. Both transmissions are preceded by our programme about Allegri’s Miserere.

Tonight’s programme will be released on CORO as a DVD in March, and can be pre-ordered now.

A BBC/Sixteen/TVE/Arte co-production.

Sofie Gråbøl

There had to be a way – eventually – to mention Sofie Gråbøl in The Sixteen’s blog, so I am happy to report the first known sighting of the on-screen trailer for the next programme in our Sacred Music series. Shown last night between episodes 3 and 4 of the second series of Forbrydelsen (known in English as The Killing), it announced the transmission times of God’s Composer, which explores the extraordinary world of Victoria, the 400th anniversary of whose death we have been marking throughout the year. Presented by Simon Russell Beale, you can see it on BBC Four at 20.00 on Friday 2 December or at 02.30 on Saturday 3 December: both showings are preceded by our half-hour programme about Allegri.

Sacred Music: A Christmas History

I am not sure how many shopping days there are until Christmas, but here is an early entry in the premature mentions of the festive season stakes.  Our new DVD Sacred Music: A Christmas History has just been released and is available from our online shop.

Harry Christophers and The Sixteen join Simon Russell Beale for two special Christmas programmes that look beyond the familiar carols and festive songs to reveal two millennia of music and texts from across Europe.

A CHRISTMAS HISTORY
Simon Russell Beale takes a journey through Italy, Britain, Germany and Austria as he explores how the sound of Christmas has evolved in response to changing ideas about the Nativity. His story takes us through two millennia of music, from a fragment of papyrus preserving the earliest known piece of Christian music to the stories behind Hark! the herald angels sing, Silent Night and In the bleak midwinter, and the work of popular Christmas composer, John Rutter all performed by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen.

A CHORAL CHRISTMAS
Simon Russell Beale introduces a programme of choral music for Christmas from across the centuries, featuring performances of some of the works featured in the accompanying documentary. Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, perform music including J.S. Bach’s harmonisation of the medieval carol In dulci jubilo, A spotless rose by Herbert Howells and the Christmas text O magnum mysterium, set as a motet by Tomás Luis de Victoria.