Sansara’s exquisite programme of sacred choral music mixes English renaissance polyphony and contemporary pieces.
Taverner was master of choristers at Cardinal College Oxford in the 1520s and hugely influential. His great Mass in honour of St Michael, will weave through the programme like a thread.
There are two pieces by Tippett: Plebs Angelica, written for the Canterbury Cathedral choir in 1944, and Steal away, a spiritual from the oratorio A Child of our Time.
Judith Weir’s contemporary take on a medieval Marian hymn was composed for the Merton College Choirbook in 2014; William Henry Harris’s fine 1925 anthem sets an Edmund Spenser poem from 1599; while Thomas Hyde's recent Magnificat makes its British premier.
These things shall be was written by the daughter of our founder Pat Harrison, composer Ailsa Dixon - who died last year. Read more about her life and work here
The Choir
Winners of the London International A Cappella Choir Competition in 2015, Sansara work as a chamber ensemble without a single director or conductor. The result is a highly engaging and versatile group of professional musicians, working together with a unified voice to express a shared artistic vision.
As a collective body of voices, a choir is a living, breathing instrument with unparalleled expressive potential. Sansara realises this through direct and honest music-making, always striving to conjure compelling atmospheres, communicating with clarity and integrity.
The choir has rapidly gained a reputation for captivating performances of a broad range of repertoire, juxtaposing choral music old and new in vivid narrative programmes, tying thematic and textual links into rich musical-poetic live experiences.
“The a cappella sound of the future” Peter Phillips, Tallis Scholars
“This is truly special” Sir James MacMillan, Composer
“Choral singing with real depth” The Observer
The choir’s debut recording, Cloths of Heaven, was released in February 2017 and received high praise for the group’s “perfect intonation and clean, pure sound” Observer and “breathtaking interpretations” Choir & Organ. The disc has since been featured on BBC Radio 3’s The Choir, Breakfast and Essential Classics.