The Celebrated Light of Music: Tokyo

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For the first time in 20 years, The Sixteen will travel to Japan, celebrating anniversaries of two masters of vocal writing, Palestrina and Arvo Pärt.

For the fifth time in its 45-year history, and for the first time in two decades, The Sixteen will travel to Japan for four performances across the country, celebrating Palestrina’s 500th anniversary and the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt. In a programme demonstrating the craft of choral writing across the centuries, we combine music from Palestrina’s exquisite Song of Songs and Stabat mater, with the mesmerising sounds of Pärt’s Tribute to Ceasar and Da pacem Domine.

On Palestrina’s music, Harry says:

‘I have always regarded Palestrina as the master craftsman whose music composers of all ages have attempted to emulate. He shapes his music in a beautifully sonorous way using many suspensions but always coming back into the line of the music. However, it is this perfect craftsmanship that can sometimes make Palestrina’s music sound all too perfect and occasionally academic. We have attempted to achieve real ebb and flow in his music, not clipping the ends of phrases but allowing the music to breathe, to convey the real meaning of the words and making our breaths part of the music as a whole. There is a wealth of word painting in which to indulge especially in his Song of Songs motets. Our aim has been to be sensitive to this wonderful poetry and inject an energy and beauty into our performances that I hope goes some way to honour Palestrina as the celebrated light of music.’