THIS concert by The Sixteen comprised music from the late 15th and early 16th centuries as part of the York Early Music Festival. The pieces were linked to Magdelene College, Oxford, through the composers Davy and Sheppard, and was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

In Gaude, gaude, gaude Maria, an antiphon addressed to the Virgin by John Sheppard, the soprano line soared over complex harmonies and textures. Words in the plainsong sections were easier to hear, but The Sixteen’s distinctive, blended sound made it difficult to hear the text in some of the tutti sections.

This was followed by Adolescentulus sum ego by William Mundy. The text, from Psalm 119, is set to glorious interlocking polyphony.

The first half ended with O dominae caeli terraequae creator by Richard Davy. The piece has a simpler structure with verses for two, three or four voices that contrast with the full five-part sections. The second half began with Sheppard’s Libera nos I & II and In manus tuas I & III.

This was where the concert came to its true height of serenity and exquisite singing.

Sunlight slanting through stained glass windows heightened the sense of music, belief, and architecture combining to form a beautiful whole.

Ten singers from the 19 sang in the In manus tuas so texture and text were particularly clear. The In manus tuas III was the highlight of the concert for me.The concert ended with Mundy’s long setting of Vox patris caelestis, in which the sensuous text refers to the voice of the turtle dove that gave the concert its title. The Sixteen sustained the complexities of the polyphony and demands of this extended piece with their characteristic professionalism and received well deserved applause.

Sue Shaw