The Sixteen: Mother of Mercy – Music for Lent

Lent is supposed to be a time of reflection and austerity, but everything’s relative, and in Portugal, in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, those weeks of fasting were the pretext for a feast of sacred music at its most emotionally charged. Harry Christophers and his world-famous chamber choir The Sixteen invite us to the banquet today, and music as glorious as Lotti’s Crucifixus needs no introduction. But that’s just for starters. Savour yearning melodies, lush harmonies and soaring, impassioned prayers from Melgas, Caldara and Rebelo, as well as the blossoming, endlessly expressive imagination of Domenico Scarlatti. Self-denial has never sounded so indulgent…