Harry Christophers and The Sixteen present this Documentary of renaissance music titled "God's Composer: Tomás Luis de Victoria" focusing on the golden age of 16th Century Spain. In Part Two of this Documentary we discover if after 400 years of his death, if we are actually performing the works as he intended. Fortunately, there is a rich archive of printed scores and we take a look at one such book printed in 1572 when Victoria was age 26. It is a book in four parts that can be untied and given to the different voices. Victoria was not only a composer of pure music, but also a word painter; displaying great maturity in these works, texts taken from Song of Songs sometimes asking voices to sing very high range, seemed new and daring. Continue to experience the textures and colour of the music of Victoria.

Harry Christophers and The Sixteen present this Documentary of renaissance music titled "God's Composer: Tomás Luis de Victoria" focusing on the golden age of 16th Century Spain. A turbulent tumbling mix of heroism, catholic mysticism, conquistadores and inquisition; and out of this turmoil came this extraordinary music. Spiritual, stirring, sublime; the sound of God's own composer. This Documentary marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Tomás Luis de Victoria, who composed some of the masterpieces of devotional music ever written. The music opens the window to the world of Victoria, his life and creations. Music full of interweaving layers and textures, click the play button to experience the music of Victoria, in Part One of this Documentary.

The music of Eric Whitacre has been growing in popularity in recent years and many choirs have incorporated some of his works in their Programme. We have already seen his amazing world collaboration of The Virtual Choir singing Sleep, and Whitacre has composed many other well known works. In this weeks clip, we see a multitrack recording of Whitacre's Lux Aurumque, sung by Dan Wright. Multitracks are done by recording one part as one track; other parts are then recorded in a likewise manner. Once this recording process of all parts is complete, the video and audio is edited and mixed to make the multitrack. Click the play button to experience this multitrack.

Sir Colin Davis conducts Tenebrae with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican in this recording of Handel's Messiah. Listen as Davis lifts us to a new level in this movement, with the crystal clear unaccompanied harmonies in the middle section. Handel's masterpiece uses short texts from the Bible to tell the story of Christ's birth, death and resurrection. Imbued with a deep humanity and written with the imagination of a composer at the peak of powers, Messiah is intimate yet dramatic and includes some of Handel's best-loved music. Recorded December 2006, Barbican, London.

Our journey of discovery continues with a Christmas theme and we have a great line-up of documentary's which will take you to the far reaches of the globe and to the highest highs! The ever popular Harry Christophers The Sixteen, present this series "Sacred Music: A Choral Christmas" - a series of five videos. After 32 years of worldwide performance and recording, The Sixteen is recognised as one of the world’s greatest ensembles and a special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th-century music. Click the play button to watch Episode 1. [Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5]

Get a close and intimate look behind the scenes in this weeks clip: the restoration of the Auckland Town Hall Organ. This is a series of short excerpts from "Restoring the Splendour", an hour-long documentary video telling the story of the greatest project of its kind ever undertaken in New Zealand: the challenge to bring back the grandeur of the country's largest pipe organ when little of the original remained. The documentary starts with the opening of the Auckland Town Hall in 1911, and includes history, interviews, the construction of new pipes and mechanism at the Klais factory in Bonn, installation in New Zealand, and the thrilling inauguration concert in March 2010. The DVD can be purchased from their web site.

Fresh from their Christmas Album, Libera are back with their sweet angelic voices and harmony. The distinctive sound of Libera (visit them on Facebook), have topped both mainstream and classical charts in many countries, holding their place in top-tens alongside major artists like Bocelli. The boys in Libera have been described as “normal”. However, the music they produce is truly extraordinary. With shimmering, mystical chords, ecstatic and ethereal harmonies, they are unlike any other group you have ever heard; celestial sounds to lift the soul. In this video Libera perform O Holy Night. Auckland Choral wish you a very HAPPY and SAFE Christmas.

One week out from Christmas, we thought we would brighten your hearts and spirits with this weeks video. The Piano Guys introduce their new video: "Where Are You Christmas was originally recorded by Faith Hill and written by Mariah Carey, James Horner, and Will Jennings. While Jon Schmidt was writing the arrangement, a thought came to him to have a child sing just the last verse. He asked his daughter Sarah. The combination of her beautifully-innocent voice and the love between a father and daughter make this magical. Our wish is that this video reminds you of the ones you love that are hopefully close to you at Christmas time. We filmed this live at a recent Christmas Concert. It was one of our shortest video shoots/edits ever, which was surreal after spending three months on Cello Wars!!"

Brian Kay, our guest Conductor for Messiah, and in New Zealand for a while, we thought we would take a look at the legacy he has created. Kay, a founding member of The Kings Singers in 1978, sung Bass in over 2000 concerts across the globe. Kay divides his time between the broadcasting studio and concert hall, also winning the coveted Gold at the Sony Awards in 1996. The choristers at Auckland Choral are excited to be working with Brian Kay in this years Messiah and we hope you enjoy the extra drama that he has wound into the performance. Click here to watch The Kings Singers in concert at the Royal Albert Hall during the BBC Proms.

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) wrote Cantique de Jean Racine for accompanied mixed choir when he was just nineteen years old. Often performed today with just organ or piano, the piece was premiered on August 4th 1866, with strings and organ. The piece won Fauré first prize when he graduated from the Niedermeyer School. The words come from the pen of French author Jean Racine (1639-1699), and are a paraphrase of a much earlier Latin hymn. Fauré did write some music for larger forces, but his genius is perhaps best remembered today in smaller scale forms, such as his piano and chamber music; the Cantique is arguably among the most expressive of all choral pieces.

With the advances in technology, there is often no need to have all the instruments to make an awesome sound. The latest Digital Pianos and Music Workstations have the capability of replicating realistic sounds which have been sampled from actual instruments and digitised for optimum sound quality. One of those instruments is the latest offering from Yamaha: the Tyros 4 Workstation Keyboard. The sound is incredibly natural thanks to Ambient Sampling. Microphones are positioned close to the instrument to capture a direct sound which includes very little of the rooms ambience resulting in unprecedented clarity and realism of sound. Better than ever. More natural, more authentic, and exceptionally expressive. It's a difference you can instantly hear - one that inspires you to new creative heights and lets you play your dream!

You have probably heard the music belonging to the group in this weeks clip, as a backing track to many television advertisements and programmes but perhaps did not know who they are. The voice is an amazing instrument and there is no other more gorgeous sound to that of a Boys' Choir. The distinctive sound of Libera (Facebook), have topped both mainstream and classical charts in many countries, holding their place in top-tens alongside major artists like Bocelli. The boys in Libera have been described as “normal”. However, the music they produce is truly extraordinary. With shimmering, mystical chords, ecstatic and ethereal harmonies, they are unlike any other group you have ever heard; celestial sounds to lift the soul. The singers of Libera who are aged seven to sixteen attend many different local schools in South London and come from a variety of backgrounds. Although they are boys and they sing, they do not think of themselves as choirboys, but rather as an alternative kind of boy band. In this video, Libera perform, Far Away.

The next generation of super singer Charice, is the type of singer who can make the audience in a stadium, erupt with rapture and applause! David Foster took her under his wing a while ago and she has blossomed into a singer with such a wide range of expression and colour! Charice joins The Canadian Tenors and David Foster on the piano to perform a stunning rendition of The Prayer. Charice shows amazing vocal versatility in this performance and her voice blends perfectly with the sweet harmonies of The Canadian Tenors. Click the play button to experience this new singer!

The Piano Guys are back! They talk about their latest project: "It was impossible to turn down an invitation from one of our fans to visit a private race track in the middle of the Nevada desert just outside of Las Vegas. We took our cameras and a new tune that we created just for the occasion. Thanks to a number of suggestions to remake this epic classical piece by Carl Orff! It was one of three possibilities we were considering when writing with the race track in mind. In the end it was no contest; especially when we read the translation of the Latin lyrics - which speak of fate like a "wheel" and a "driving force!" Our version of O Fortuna was so much fun to create that it was done in a matter of three days! It consists of 6 piano tracks, 43 acoustic cello tracks, 3 percussion tracks, and 48 vocal tracks."

The IRB Rugby World Cup has come to and end and it was the New Zealand All Blacks who went on to win the Tournament in a pulsating Final against a powerful French team. Thus ends our journey of inspiration during the Tournament. However, journeys have to start somewhere and in this weeks clip, we learn about the Genesis Sixteen, a course which was launched in September 2011. Genesis Sixteen is an exciting new training programme which aims to nurture the next generation of talented young voices. The group of young singers receive training from Harry Christophers and members of The Sixteen, as well as training from The Sixteen's Assistant Conductor Eamonn Dougan. This is a unique project made possible by generous support from the Genesis Foundation.

We go back to where it all began in this weeks clip. Now down to the final two teams at the IRB Rugby World Cup, The song synonymous with this Tournament first sung by Kiri Te Kanawa the last time New Zealand hosted the Rugby World Cup in 1987. This time we hear superstar Hayley Westenra sing this powerful song. Hayley will be joined by Will Martin at the Final of the Tournament to sing the National Anthems alongside the NZCF Anthem Choirs. World Cup glory is winning one more match for these two teams and we hope you have enjoyed our journey of inspiration during the Tournament.

Continuing the journey of inspiration, this time to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006. At the IRB Rugby World Cup, we are down to the final four teams in this Tournament. Teams will have to fight through adversity and come together to continue their dream for World Cup glory! In this video, Delta Goodrem, former Neighbours actress, performs Together We are One at the Commonwealth Games; a journey of coming together in adversity, holding on to hope, the dream within their heart and reaching beyond the furthest star.

Down to the final eight teams at the IRB Rugby World Cup and the stunning rugby will continue in the remaining three weeks of the Tournament. The stars of the teams will be the forefront and others will step up and make a stake for better things and match the efforts of their team mates. So this weeks clip is fitting going back to the Sydney 2000 Olympics as new heroes will be found in the coming weeks. Vanessa Amorosi performs "Heroes Live Forever" at the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney games.

Inspirational music of a more familiar sound this week. The Tallis Scholars Directed by Peter Phillips, perform the Kyrie from Missa Papae Marcelli by Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina (1524 - 1591) in a 1980 recording on the Gimell Records label. We are taken on a journey through some of the most magnificent churches, cathedrals and basilicas around France: 1. L'èglise des Jacobins, Toulouse (where the remains of St Thomas Aquinas are kept); 2. Notre-Dame de la Garde, Marseilles; and 3. Notre-Dame de Fourvrière, Lyons. Click the play button to experience this ethereal journey.

The IRB Rugby World Cup has begun and we have witnessed stunning Rugby in the first week of the Tournament. Continuing our journey of inspiration, we travel ahead four years to the Sydney 2000 Olympics. In this clip, we see pop music legends John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John perform the inspirational song called "Dare to Dream" - a song about self belief, the power not to give in, pushing through resistance and believing in the moment of truth. Dare to dream, dare to fly, dare to reach for your goals and be the one to touch the sky. Enjoy this journey of inspiration.

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