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'...a disc that is filled with lovely music. Performances are excellent. Anyone who is interested in the best of choral music of our time will treasure this disc'
'This recording is a fine example of Polyphony's exquisite range and Stephen Layton's skill in maintaining the balance between voices and ensemble'
'This is great stuff, and it's given its best imaginable realization by Stephen Layton and his crack vocal ensemble Polyphony... The sound, recorded in two different London churches in 2006, has a pleasing resonance that preserves the essential detail among the voices while offering proper balance with the instruments. For choral - and especially Lauridsen - fans, neglecting this disc is not an...
'Lauridsen's Mid-Winter Hymns unfolds as an astutely constructed choral symphony, with bouncy asymmetrical rhythms and lusty choral writing leading to a meditative fadeout. Les chanson des roses is a polyphonic delight that strategically delays the entry of the piano until the very end. Lively, confident performances'
'There could be few choirs better equipped than Polyphony to bring his music to life, with their pure sound and lively musicianship … the recent Ave Dulcissima Maria is for a capella male chorus and searingly beautiful. The final Nocturnes is a triptych of settings of Rilke, Pablo Neruda and James Agee … all three brimful of the exquisite beauty that is Lauridsen's special possession'
'The Polyphony Messiah' as I have taken to calling it, has been the final concert of the year for me for the past five years, and it never creases to be a highlight of the musical calendar: a glitch this year meant that my request for tickets was not seen until November 30th, by which time, I was informed, there had already been a run on Press Tickets, with an exceptionally long list. Fortunately...