The Sixteen releases 25th Choral Pilgrimage album
Angel of Peace
Featuring premiere recording of Orbits by Anna Clyne, and works by Hildegard, Pärt, Todd and Taverner
CORO, The Sixteen’s award-winning record label, will release the 25th album in the Choral Pilgrimage series on 7 March. The album will feature the premiere recording of a new work by Anna Clyne, in addition to works by Hildegard, Pärt, Todd and Taverner. Angel of Peace is performed by The Sixteen and conducted by Harry Christophers, and also features solo violin from Sarah Sexton.
Offering tranquillity in a world of resurgent conflict and frenetic demands on our attention, The Sixteen present its 2025 Choral Pilgrimage album in the same month that it begins its live tour of the same name, providing a slice of stillness across music spanning six centuries.
From the songs of the medieval abbess Hildegard of Bingen to the realm of a brand-new work by the contemporary composer Anna Clyne, nine pieces of music from across the centuries speak of peace and acceptance and the ecstatic joy their reassurance can bring.
On creating Orbits for the 2025 Choral Pilgrimage, composer Anna Clyne says:
“In a world that often feels fractured and tumultuous, music has the power to open spaces of deep connection and stillness. ‘Orbits’ is a journey into this realm, where each note resonates with the pulse of centuries past and echoes forward, inviting listeners into a moment of peace and presence.”
The Sixteen will tour the programme across the UK in its annual Choral Pilgrimage, visiting over 20 locations, beginning at Croydon Minster (17 March) and finishing at Chichester Cathedral (4 October).
This year’s album and Choral Pilgrimage tour takes its title from words by Cardinal Newman, set to music by Will Todd - Let me be an angel of peace, commissioned by the Genesis Foundation for The Sixteen in 2021. Newman’s meditation on the challenge of existence presents a reflection for modern life.
“Let me be an angel of peace, of solace,
a preacher of truth in my own place,
a fastener of hands, a keeper of goodwill,
an angel of peace.
And I have faith that I,
whatever I am, I shall not be cast away:
accepting that this life can only teach
what we must do, not why.”
Words by Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-90), adapted by Ben Dunwell (b. 1969).
TRACK LISTING:
Hildegard of Bingen Ave, generosa I-IV
Arvo Pärt Tribute to Caesar
Will Todd I shall be an angel of peace (with violinist Sarah Sexton)
John Taverner Gaude plurimum
Hildegard of Bingen, Ave, generosa V-VII
Arvo Pärt Da pacem Domine
Anna Clyne Orbits (with violinist Sarah Sexton) – PREMIERE RECORDING
Arvo Pärt Magnificat
John Taverner O splendor gloriae