Bright Orb of Harmony

To celebrate their thirtieth anniversary, the three hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Henry Purcell's birth (1659) and James MacMillan's fiftieth birthday (16 July 2009), The Sixteen recorded live at the first concert on the 2009 Choral Pilgrimage a brand new disc of music dedicated to these most innovative of British composers. Purcell's extraordinary use of harmony sounds as modern today as it must have sounded in the seventeenth century. Putting his heartfelt Funeral Sentences alongside James MacMillan's powerfully emotive A Child's Prayer, written in memory of the Dunblane Tragedy, and his hauntingly beautiful O bone Jesu (a piece originally commissioned by The Sixteen) will give the listener the chance to experience the true power of this music.