Digital Single Description

This Valentine’s Day (Friday 14th February), The Sixteen releases a new vocal arrangement of the theme from Adagio sostenuto from Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2. It has been specially composed by Bob Chilcott for the choir. An eternally beautiful piece of music, The Sixteen bring their rich and colourful sound to one of the most recognised and much-loved piano works.

Harry Christophers CBE, founder and conductor of The Sixteen says: ‘We always enjoy singing Bob’s music and we hope this clever arrangement will allow people to hear Rachmaninoff’s beautiful and well-known melody in a new way. It really lends itself to the human voice and we hope that it helps people take a moment out of their day to relax and unwind. We also want it to open up the real power of choral singing to a whole new audience and be the start of a journey into this sublime genre of music.’

Bob Chilcott, composer says: ‘Some of the greatest melodies of the past hundred years have been written by Rachmaninoff and when it came to choosing one that could be sung by The Sixteen, the slow movement of his Piano Concerto No.2 seemed the obvious choice to me. It felt right for their open and expressive sound and it was such a thrill to hear them sing it with their characteristic warmth and integrity.’

Artists