The Sixteen tours throughout Europe, Japan, Australia and the Americas and has given regular performances at major concert halls and festivals worldwide, including the Barbican Centre, Sydney Opera House, and Vienna Musikverein; also the BBC Proms, and the festivals of Salzburg, Granada, Lucerne and Istanbul. The vigour and passion of its performance win new fans wherever it performs. At home in the UK, the group promotes A Choral Pilgrimage, a tour of our finest cathedrals bringing music back to the buildings for which it was written. In 2006 The Choral Pilgrimage features the Requiem of 1605 by Tomás Luis de Victoria. An ongoing association with the BBC Philharmonic allows the choir to stretch its repertoire into large-scale choral works of the 20th century. The Sixteen are "The Voices of Classic FM" and from the 2006/7 season will become Associate Ensemble at the South Bank Centre, London.
The choir is enhanced by the existence of its own period instrument orchestra, The Symphony of Harmony and Invention, and through it Harry Christophers brings fresh insights to music including that of Purcell, Monteverdi, JS Bach and Handel. 2004 witnessed the launch of the group‘s annual Handel in Oxford Festival, a weekend of concerts and events dedicated to the life of this great composer.
CORO is the award-winning record label of Harry Christophers and The Sixteen. Started in 2001, CORO releases new recordings from The Sixteen and is re-releasing former Collins CDs by the group, re-mastered and re-packaged. With nearly 50 recordings on the label, many international award winners including a Gramophone Award for an Eton Choirbook, a Gramophone Award 2006 nomination for Victoria's Requiem 1605, Diapason D'Or and Deutsche Schallplatten Kritik winners and a prodigious number of five star reviews, CORO continues to go from strength to strength. CORO titles are available internationally at retail, at concerts, via this website and digitally via iTunes and most other important digital music platforms. The Sixteen has also recorded Renaissance and Ikon for Universal Records, the former winning the 2005 Classical Brit award for The Best Ensemble Recording of the Year.
This, and other info about The Sixteen is avaliable on their official website;
www.the-sixteen.org.uk
Ave Verum Corpus
The Sixteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
natum de Maria Virgine,
vere passum,
immolatum in cruce pro homine,
cuius latus perforatum
unda fluxit sanguine:
esto nobis praegustatum
mortis in examine.
O Iesu, fili Mariae, miserere mei.
The lyrics to the song "Ave verum Corpus" by The Sixteen / Academy of St Martin in the Fields are in Latin, and it is a hymn that is often sung during the celebration of the Eucharist. The lyrics can be interpreted as a prayer to Jesus Christ for mercy and guidance during times of trial and distress. The hymn recognizes the sacrifice made by Jesus on the cross for humanity's salvation and asks for a foretaste of eternal life.
The opening line "Ave verum corpus" can be translated as "Hail, true body." The hymn then goes on to describe Jesus' birth from the Virgin Mary and his true suffering and sacrifice on the cross. The line "cuius latus perforatum/unda fluxit sanguine" references the piercing of Jesus' side and the flow of water and blood, which symbolizes the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. The final line asks for Jesus' mercy and invokes the intercession of Mary, his mother.
Overall, "Ave verum Corpus" is a hymn of reverence and devotion to Jesus Christ, recognizing his sacrifice and asking for his aid and mercy in times of need.
Line by Line Meaning
Ave verum corpus
Hail, true body
Natum de Maria Virgine
Born of a Virgin Mary
Vere passum
Truly suffered
Immolatum in cruce pro homine
Sacrificed on the cross for mankind
Cuius latus perforatum
Whose side was pierced
Unda fluxit sanguine
Flowing forth with water and blood
Esto nobis praegustatum
Be for us a foretaste
Mortis in examine
Of the trial of death
O dulcis! O pie!
O sweet! O merciful!
O Iesu, fili Mariae, miserere mei
O Jesus, son of Mary, have mercy on me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Vincenzo Bertolusi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Delmonaco1969
Ave verum corpus, natum
de Maria Virgine,[a]
vere passum, immolatum
in cruce pro homine
cuius latus perforatum
fluxit aqua et sanguine:[b]
esto nobis praegustatum
in mortis examine.[c]
O Iesu dulcis, O Iesu pie,
O Iesu, fili Mariae.
Miserere mei. Amen.[d]
Hail, true Body, born
of the Virgin Mary,
having truly suffered, sacrificed
on the cross for mankind,
from whose pierced side
water and blood flowed:
Be for us a foretaste [of the Heavenly banquet]
in the trial of death!
O sweet Jesus, O holy Jesus,
O Jesus, son of Mary,
have mercy on me. Amen.
@KathrynFloyd-ob7tu
So glad I found Margotlorena2! I'll be 80 this year and have loved choral music all my life. No longer able to sing, I can still enjoy a measure of participation by seeing the scores of the music. This way I can continue my music by reading along with the singers, even if it's only in my head. God bless you!
@furyvwp
My chamber choir in high school sang this... this piece is one of the few that has really stuck with me all these years. Beautiful beyond words.
@Pastrugnone1
Meraviglioso! Cantavo questo brano una ventina di anni fa con il mio coro di allora e mi è sempre piaciuto!
@georgebeckydragan6389
I fell in love with Byrd's Ave Verum Corpus the first time I heard it which was in the mid '90's, when our choir sang it for our parish celebration of Corpus Christi at the Diocesan Eucharistic Shrine in Raritan, NJ., and still remember the bass part. I still sing along with it when I hear other choirs sing it as a meditation hymn after Communion. Since I had a strong double bass voice I always dropped the final G an octave which gives the last chord greater depth and richness. I think it is the most beautiful ever written. Sorry, Mozart.
@mariajosealvarez1180
Simplemente maravilloso y angelical
@rogerroger600
Having heard this more times than I could say and having sung it almost as many - this is no doubt one of the better renderings these ears have heard.
@miriamyagud8805
Beautiful. The sixteen are a great team. Thanks for posting
@darylstreet5749
I've listened to a lot of versions of this piece, and this is the most sublime, in my estimation.
@ptheorist4670
A song (and a performance) worth crying for.
@simonslater9024
God bless the Sixteen. Praise Jesus and Mary always!!!