As befits a choir born in Oxford but now internationally famous, The Sixteen will begin its latest 30-date tour here. On Friday, March 11, the group will launch its Choral Pilgrimage 2011 at Christ Church Cathedral (tickets 01865 305305 or www.oxfordplayhouse.com/ ticketsoxford). In a programme entitled Hail, Mother of the Redeemer, the choir will sing Marian music by Tomás Luis de Victoria to mark the 400th anniversary of his death. Why, I asked the choir’s founder and conductor Harry Christophers, had he chosen this particular repertoire?

“Those who know Victoria’s music will equate him with penitential music, his Lamentations for Holy Week, his glorious Requiem of 1605, and the Tenebrae Responsories. But on this pilgrimage we are going to explore some of the sumptuous music Victoria wrote in honour of the Virgin Mary. Victoria devoted his life to the church, and the way he approaches these texts is both sensitive and sensual. This is ravishing music, which deserves to be heard by a wider audience.”

Does the music present any particular challenges for the singers or conductor?

“I am blessed with a group of singers who know exactly how to sing the music of the renaissance, how to mould the vocal lines, and how I like to shape the music.

“Our challenge is to bring this music to life in the variety of different sound worlds our cathedrals and abbeys produce. Victoria knew how to write for voices, how to explore subtleties of chording, and when to pick out a particular vocal part for total expression. He allows us to cover a wide dynamic range, but within that to convey the meaning of the text through an equally wide range of expression.

“For me as a conductor his music encourages interpretation. I can be daring but ultimately it must sound natural; that’s the challenge!”