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Bach: St John Passion (Concert Review - The Observer, 2012)
Stephen Layton has forged his own, near folkloric tradition by conducting his elite choir, Polyphony, in Bach's St John Passion every year on Good Friday for at least a decade. Yet nothing about their performance is habitual: the renewal of the choir or a change of soloists ignites each performance anew. This year's was a solemn joy. A scaled-down Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment were a notch
Bach: St John Passion (Concert Review - The Age, 2012)
A TIMELY Lenten celebration, this performance of the shorter of Bach's two great Passion settings impressed more than anything else for its consistency, the combined choirs of Trinity College Chapel and the Consort of Melbourne as crisp and true in pitch from the grinding initial chorus to the work's final chorale. Similarly, the period-style experts of Ludovico's Band sustained a high level of en
Bach: St John Passion (Concert Review - The Sydney Morning Herald, 2012)
A TIMELY Lenten celebration, this performance of the shorter of Bach's two great Passion settings impressed more than anything else for its consistency, the combined choirs of Trinity College Chapel and the Consort of Melbourne as crisp and true in pitch from the grinding initial chorus to the work's final chorale. Similarly, the period-style experts of Ludovico's Band sustained a high level of en
Esenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral Works (CD Review - Internatio
Within seconds I knew I was going to adore this CD and the music of Eriks Ešenvalds … This is a performance of considerable impact, not least in the second movement when the electrifying choral cries of 'Crucify' dissolve so magically into calm, plainchant-inspired music above which Carolyn Sampson floats with angelic luminosity … If the music wasn't so utterly gorgeous, I would happily devote sev
Bach: Motets (Concert Review - The Oxford Times, 2010)
The London-based Holst Singers have been called “one of Britain’s foremost choirs”, and after hearing them at the weekend, I can see why. In this programme of Bach motets, they produced a bright, clear sound which, under conductor Stephen Layton’s authoritative direction, was tightly disciplined — here was a lesson in intelligent phrasing, flawless diction and perfectly executed timings. All this,
Bach: St John Passion (Concert Review - Odense Symphony Orchestra, 2010)
Stunning Easter experience Philharmonic Choir in the leading role Odense Symphony Orchestra / J.S. Bach: St John’s Passion ”Und neigte das Haupt und verschied”. This is the text of the Gospel of St John in which Jesus gives up his spirit on the Cross. Here the conductor Stephen Layton bent his head, and stood in more than one and a half minutes silence devotional on the podium. There was never mor