The new Genesis Foundation commission, performed by The Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia, and soloists Elizabeth Watts & Matthew McKinney, becomes the first concert work to receive its world premiere in the Sistine Chapel.
The concert will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3, on 29 March at 7.30pm.
Harry Christophers and The Sixteen will make music history by giving the first-ever world premiere of a concert work in the Sistine Chapel. The concert is being presented by the Genesis Foundation with the grateful permission of the Vatican. James MacMillan’s Angels Unawares, his eighth Genesis Foundation commission and first to a text by Robert Willis, is premiered in the most breathtaking of settings: amidst frescoes that present a mesmerising vision of divine creation, human frailty, and the hope of salvation.
Concerts are rare in the Sistine Chapel, but The Sixteen and Britten Sinfonia return there for a second time — their first visit was in 2018 to perform James MacMillan’s Stabat mater, a Genesis Foundation commission now regarded as a modern masterpiece. That performance was the first concert ever live streamed from the Sistine Chapel, reaching millions worldwide. Since 2008 MacMillan has produced six commissions for the Genesis Foundation written for Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, and has frequently mentored young composers on their Genesis commissions. This will be the first performance of a new work by MacMillan since he was awarded The King’s Medal for Music earlier this month, joining an exceptional list of musicians receiving this honour since its inception in 2005.
Angels Unawares, a profoundly moving oratorio filled with angelic encounters and expressions of fear and hope, sets poetry by the late Robert Willis, former Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, who died in 2024. Dedicated to his memory, Angels Unawares is an appeal to treat strangers with dignity and compassion, to embrace kindness as a spiritual discipline. James MacMillan’s faith is fundamental to his art, and in theological terms Angels Unawares evokes and explores the numinous as manifest in encounters with angelic presences in the Old and New Testaments. Its scope is visionary, with both words and music standing to resonate with a wide audience as a vigorous, contemporary expression of faith.
The private concert on 22 March will be attended by Vatican clergy and distinguished guests by invitation of the Genesis Foundation and its Founder & Chairman, John Studzinski, KSG, CBE. Following this historical world premiere, Angels Unawares will have its first UK performance on 2 June at Cadogan Hall in London. The soloists on both occasions will be the soprano Elizabeth Watts and the tenor Matthew McKinney, an alumnus of Genesis Sixteen – The Sixteen’s fully funded training programme for outstandingly talented singers aged between 18 and 23, established in 2011 as a partnership with the Genesis Foundation.
James MacMillan, composer of Angels Unawares, says:
“I am very excited and delighted that my new work will receive its world premiere in the Sistine Chapel. Angels Unawares is a fundamentally important work for me exploring twelve unexpected and mysterious encounters with angels in the bible. There are many people in today’s world who are fascinated and beguiled by the idea of angels, and they run like a significant theme throughout the Judeo-Christian legacy.
The title comes from a passage from The Epistle to the Hebrews thought to have been written by St Paul:
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)
I set this passage right at the start of the first movement as it encapsulates the overall theme and mood of the entire piece. At its core it is an encouragement to show kindness to strangers as a spiritual discipline, an appeal to treat all individuals with dignity and compassion, recognising that every encounter with another person could carry a deeper (even supernatural) significance than it appears on the surface. There is an added layer of mystery to the verse, implying that angels might be present in everyday life, unnoticed.”
John Studzinski, Founder & Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, says:
“In these volatile and most uncertain times, we are deeply honoured to present Angels Unawares in the sacred Sistine Chapel.
Celebrating the angelic realm and the ministry of guardian angels, this work affirms that they guide, protect, and love us; instilling the truth that each of us is worthy of God’s love, of attention, and of salvation. For many who feel worthless, angels bring comfort and support to change that belief; they also aid our free will and help us pursue our destiny.
Angels Unawares is among the few major works commissioned, composed, written, and dedicated exclusively to the Holy Angels. Through words and music, it celebrates their constant presence and the peace they bring and affirms how the arts hold a unique power to unite people and inspire a renewed commitment to the common good.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Papal Household for graciously permitting this performance, and to Cardinal Vincent Nichols for his steadfast partnership and faith in this vision.”
Harry Christophers, Founder and Conductor of The Sixteen, says:
“Returning to the Sistine Chapel to give the world premiere of a major contemporary choral work is a great privilege, and what a joy it is to do so with the brilliant musicians of The Sixteen and Britten Sinfonia. Our collaborations are always memorable and this will be as inspirational as ever.
“I am incredibly thankful to John and the Genesis Foundation for making our visit possible – this is truly a rare honour. Sir James MacMillan’s Angels Unawares transports us to a heavenly realm, asking questions of human nature and purpose, and paying tribute to the inspired thoughts and ideas of my dear friend, the late Robert Willis.