Tenebrae and Harry Christophers among top winners at BBC Music Magazine Awards 2026
Vocal ensemble Tenebrae and conductor Harry Christophers were among the standout winners at the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2026, announced at a ceremony at Kings Place in London on 22 April.
Tenebrae won both the Choral Award and Recording of the Year for A Prayer for Deliverance, released on Signum Classics and directed by Nigel Short. The album features works by Richard Rodney Bennett, Holst, Tavener, Cecilia McDowall, Francis Pott, Caroline Shaw and others.
Charlotte Smith, editor of BBC Music Magazine, described the album as ‘a timely response to an increasingly fractured world’, adding, ‘Far from a disheartening experience, the singing is quietly powerful in its restraint and uplifting in its passion.’
In a statement, Tenebrae said, ‘We are bowled over to have won the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2026 in both the Choral category and for the Recording of the Year.’
The ensemble added, ‘We are so grateful to every single person who voted for us in the Choral category – it means so much to us to have this album recognised in this way.’
Harry Christophers, founder and director of The Sixteen, was named Personality of the Year. Christophers founded the ensemble in 1979 and continues to lead its artistic work, with recent activity including a new training programme for 14–18 year-olds launched in 2025.
The awards, now in their 21st year, are described by BBC Music Magazine as the only classical music recording awards in which the main categories are decided by public vote.