Voces8

It is with good reason that VOCES8 ranks among the world’s leading a cappella ensembles: it masterfully combines vocal precision with stylistic diversity. In their new programme, the singers even open the gates of heaven.

Under the title Give Me Your Stars, the octet spans a range from the Renaissance to jazz, pop and film music – inspired by the idea of starlight as a source of comfort and guidance. Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Regina Caeli à 8 opens the programme with radiant polyphony, followed by Eric Whitacre’s hopeful All Seems Beautiful to Me. Lucy Walker’s Give Me Your Stars, composed especially for VOCES8, forms the emotional core of the programme. In arrangements by Jim Clements, the Bond classics For Your Eyes Only and You Only Live Twice appear in cinematic splendour. The Irish Danny Boy, on the other hand, adds Celtic touches. Finally, I Get a Kick Out of New York provides jazzy verve.

VOCES8 was founded in 2005 by London-based brothers Paul and Barnaby Smith. Since then, the ensemble has performed at venues such as the Elbphilharmonie and the Sydney Opera House. Their albums have reached the top of the charts, and their recording of Christopher Tin’s The Lost Birds with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was nominated for a Grammy in 2023.

CAST & CREDITS

Savannah Porter, Eleonora Poignant soprano, Katie Jeffries-Harris alto, Barnaby Smith alto, Blake Morgan, Euan Williamson tenor, Christopher Moore baritone, Dominic Carver bass, Barnaby Smith artistic director