Cancelled: Tenebrae Choir

Under the direction of Nigel Short, award-winning choir Tenebrae presents a varied programme of some of the greatest masterworks in the choral repertoire, from renaissance gems to the rich harmonies of the romantic period.

Lobo’s Versa est in luctum and Allegri’s Miserere, mei Deus are pinnacles of renaissance polyphony, and the Allegri in particular – composed in the seventeenth century for the choir of the Sistine Chapel – is widely celebrated for its astonishing beauty and poise. The far-reaching influence of these Renaissance masters can be heard in the sacred motets of Brahms and Bruckner, whose lavish harmonies nonetheless present an entirely new perspective; Tenebrae’s 2016 recording of this repertoire won ‘Best Choral Recording’ at the BBC Music Magazine Awards. The choir also presents two of Bach’s motets – undoubted cornerstones of the polyphonic tradition – alongside Poulenc’s Quatre motets pour un temp du penitence, whose tortured harmonies capture the suffering of Christ with almost unbearable directness.