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Howells still seems a bit of a rarity on disc. How did you first encounter him?
I sang his church music from when I was nine at Winchester Cathedral where I was a choirboy for four and a half years. As I sang Tallis and Byrd, I sang Howells, so it's very much a part of my existence, if you like.
Was it love at first hearing for you?
Yes, yes, it was. When we sang Howells' Collegium Regale in...
Hallelujah! A bright, brilliant ‘Messiah’ at Seattle Symphony
What a difference a conductor makes.
The Seattle Symphony’s guest maestro for this year’s “Messiah” performances, Stephen Layton, put his own expert stamp on Handel’s most famous oratorio Friday evening in the first of four performances at Benaroya Hall. Imaginative, lively, and full of drama, this was a “Messiah” worth the audience’...
As composers go, Handel is a bit like Bach in that it is absolutely essential for any serious exponent of his music to have views about the performance.
Visiting conductor Stephen Layton, of City of London Sinfonia fame, not to mention the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, most definitely fits the bill.
Layton’s approach to Handel’s popular masterpiece is full of insight, and the result a...
Choral director Stephen Layton is contemplating the upcoming St John's Smith Square Christmas Festival from his set of rooms overlooking Great Court at Trinity College, Cambridge. Somewhat fittingly in light of the college's illustrious mathematical history, there's a concatenation of significant birthdays and numbers to celebrate this year: the festival is 30 years old (this year's edition...
Much of choral music is directed to the heavens, inspiring if not a belief in God then certainly a contemplation of the divine.
Such was an evening spent basking in the aural glow of The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge who performed at Newcastle City Hall on Tuesday, August 2 as part of the 2016 Musica Viva International Concert Season.
The buzz before the event was understandable given the...
★★★★
It doesn’t get much better than this: one of the world’s finest choirs showcasing their considerable musical and technical gifts with immaculate performances of choral works from the Renaissance through to the 21st century in a concert hall renowned for its fine acoustics.
This Thursday night concert was part of the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge’s second Australian tour for Musica Viva...