Following a first encounter with the music from The Eton Choirbook everyone makes the same comment: Why don"t I know about this music? And who are these composers--Richard Hygons, Edmund Turges, John Browne? The disturbing fact is that there are many more composers from 15th- and 16th-century England whose names and/or music we will never know. Vast amounts of music were destroyed during the Reformation and subsequent centuries, due to neglect, vandalism, and ignorance. We are fortunate to have this early 16th-century manuscript, preserved at Eton College, which, as you will hear from the first notes of Robert Fayrfax"s Magnificat, is a treasure worth preserving at all costs. This is music full of character, often elaborate in length and complexity, with highly original writing, especially regarding voicing. The Sixteen"s performance is impressive for its total technical mastery and for its warm expressiveness. --David Vernier