By DAVID MORGAN
Croydon Minster was full on Monday night, those in the pews buzzing with expectancy about a very special concert they were about to enjoy.
Sound weave: The Sixteen performing at Croydon Minster on Monday
Croydon was the opening night venue by the internationally renowned choir, The Sixteen, for their 2025 Choral Pilgrimage, Angel of Peace.
Harry Christophers conducted the choir in his usual flamboyant and charismatic way. His expressive gestures coaxed and directed the singers, their voices becoming golden threads ready to be turned in a glorious tapestry.
Effortlessly, or so it appeared, the tapestry grew as Christophers developed each theme and thread. There were no loose ends. Syllables at the ends of words were neatly tucked in.
Each singer began their entries with the precision of a weaver with a sharp needle.
Confident and decisive in their work, each thread added to the blend. Sometimes the threads were bold, on occasion they were but a tiny presence. Sometimes there was a cross over, at other times the threads ran in parallel.
The master weaver understood that creating a golden cloth meant that the spaces between the threads were just as important as the strands themselves. He created those spaces to allow the cloth to breathe and to take better shape.
Through each piece, the tempo brought about a new definition, each little part adding to the whole.
Enhancing the golden cloth were some wonderful embellishments. The sound of a solo violin, expertly played by Sarah Sexton, brought a new colour to the sound. It gave an added vibrancy, like the addition of a peony in full bloom adds a new hue to the garden. When the tempo of the music increased it was as if the wind picked up and scattered the petals around.
The exquisite solo voice of Elisabeth Paul cut through the threads, but never broke them as her voice soared into the perfect Minster acoustic.
The choice of music for this year’s Choral Pilgrimage had a touch of quirkiness about it.
From the plainsong of Hildegard of Bingen written in the 12th Century on the one hand to the ethereal harmonics of the modern-day Latvian composer Arvo Part on the other.
There was an inspired commissioned piece by Anne Clyne, Orbit, contrasted by two pieces by the Tudor composer, John Taverner.
Taverner’s works of renaissance polyphony might be described as “walls of sound”, predating the modern-day Motown wall of sound by 500 years.
The title of the pilgrimage, Angel of Peace, was taken from the Will Todd anthem:
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
The concert was hugely appreciated by the audience who gave Christophers, his violinist and the choir a long and genuine period of applause. As people shuffled out into the cold night air their conversations were about quality, about high standards and glorious music-making.
The next Choral Pilgrimage concert in this series will be held in the Metropolitan Cathedral at Liverpool. When Christophers takes to the podium he will begin again to weave his musical threads. Each concert night is different. Each weave is distinct. Each one is rich and intricate and wonderful to behold.
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