Full of virtuosity, vibrant colour and dynamic energy, Handel’s Dixit Dominus captures absolutely the Italian style of the period. Handel’s control of forces is masterly and the range of texture and style is breathtaking. Written during the composer’s time in Italy in the early eighteenth century it is amongst his first autographed works and also one of his finest.

By comparison Agostino Steffani’s little known Stabat Mater was one of his last compositions. Written for the Academy of Vocal Music in London, this work is the most powerful expression of Steffani’s religious fervour and, outside opera, his largest, most varied and most heartfelt composition.

"For most listeners, the surprise package here will be Agostino Steffani’s Stabat Mater. Like the younger Handel, Steffani had connections with London. Not long before his death in 1728, he became president of the Academy of Vocal Music. This work, which he probably sent to the academy, is his final masterpiece. Its flavour is sober and devout, but it’s also deeply felt, the textures rich, the writing both sonorous and sensitive. The Sixteen perform it eloquently. With a few more string players added, they also combine precision and maximum excitement in the precocious, thrilling brilliance of Handel’s Dixit Dominus, composed in Rome by a man at the opposite end of his career."

-- Stephen Pettitt, Sunday Times(UK) [10/4/2009]