A sublime mix of ancient and modern in The Sixteen’s latest tour – Angel of Peace
Last night, The Sixteen launched its annual ‘Choral Pilgrimage’ with a characteristic blend of ancient and modern choral music, opening the first of over 20 UK-wide concerts at Croydon Minster.
At its heart, a work commissioned by the Genesis Foundation in 2021, Will Todd’s exquisite I shall be an angel of peace sets a meditation by Cardinal Newman. Newman, born in 1801, is renowned for his poem The Dream of Gerontius — the basis of Elgar’s much-loved choral work of the same name written in 1900. Todd’s score intertwines a solo violin line with harmonic progressions, each chord of which stretch and console in equal measure. In the face of the epic darkness of death and loss, Todd’s music gently depicts the fear of death at the same time as offering a simple and effective kind of comfort in the midst of it. That the combination of ancient and modern complements so well is either down to conductor and artistic director Harry Christophers, composer Will Todd, or both. Regardless, the piece has the power to make sense of life in an instant and still leave you asking questions.
Hildegard von Bingen’s Ave, generosa before and after this has a grounding and focussing effect on the mind. Each tentative rise in the melodic line is a tender caress or reassuring touch. The combination of these two musical styles from opposite ends of time only reinforces the impact: for hundreds of years music has made sense of life. In this magical listening moment people with pens in their hands scrabble for fitting words to conclude a paragraph.
Harry Christophers is the focus. By definition, there are no guarantees in live classical music, that’s its appeal. Yet, The Sixteen in performance achieve the rare thing of providing just that – a musical guarantee. This carefully curated and beautifully executed music makes sense of your brain in a way you never thought possible nor realised you absolutely needed.
Anna Clyne’s Orbits has a lilting celebratory air to it, progressive in comparison to Will Todd’s score. Here The Sixteen combine contemporary with ancient without being too earnest – a creative act borne out of knowledge, experience and connections. Not to be sniffed at.
As I leave in pursuit of a tram home from East Croydon station, I overhear a couple reviewing the concert. “I liked the slidey bits,” said a man behind me. Yep, me too. I’ve no idea of the provenance, nor why the music is on the programme. I’ll follow up on that at home. For now, I feel as though I’ve been treated to something I didn’t appreciate I needed quite so much as I did. And to think, there are 22 other opportunities to experience that between now and the 4th October. Excellent work, Mr Christophers.
