Blurbs for this 2021 release by The Sixteen repeat the often-heard "500 years of choral music" description, but most of the pieces are contemporary. The key to the program lies in the personal note by director Harry Christophers that accompanies all of The Sixteen releases (and these are always worth reading). He recounts hearing the title track, actually Good Night, Good Night, Beloved, as a youth singing in a glee club, and this album is something like The Sixteen's version of a glee club concert. Most of the pieces might ...
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Blurbs for this 2021 release by The Sixteen repeat the often-heard "500 years of choral music" description, but most of the pieces are contemporary. The key to the program lies in the personal note by director Harry Christophers that accompanies all of The Sixteen releases (and these are always worth reading). He recounts hearing the title track, actually Good Night, Good Night, Beloved, as a youth singing in a glee club, and this album is something like The Sixteen's version of a glee club concert. Most of the pieces might be called partsongs, and they are accessible, text-centered (annotator Andrew Stewart perceptively notes that the lyrics of each piece are "ripe for memorization"), and just slightly sentimental. This release has enjoyed commercial success even beyond the usual level enjoyed by The Sixteen, and it's easy to understand why. This may not be the group's usual stock-in-trade, but they execute the music beautifully, and the listener may even experience an involuntary tear upon hearing...
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