It is Passiontide, and the 11th annual pilgrimage by the renowned choral group The Sixteen visited Birmingham Oratory for this concert of music by Victoria.
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of the Spanish renaissance composer Tomas Luis de Victoria.
Victoria was himself a priest, and the magnificence of the Oratory, only slightly muted by the purple Lenten veils covering its crosses and statues was an entirely appropriate context in which to hear this evening of music from the Marian tradition “Hail, Mother of the Redeemer”.
The diverse and thoughtfully planned programme mixed large scale works such as the majestic setting of the Magnificat octavi toni with sequences of shorter motets.
The opulence of “Congratulamini mihi” contrasted with “Vidi speciosam”, the words from the Song of Solomon full of images of spring, expressed in a most beautiful and radiantly flowing polyphony.
Harry Christophers and The Sixteen (on this occasion 18) brought new life to this centuries-old music with great skill, the clarity and precision producing music full of contrast in its vocal scoring and constantly shifting textures.
We may no longer all share the absolute faith which characterised the period in which these pieces were composed, but the tenderness and passion expressed in this music speaks to us still.
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