Reviews
Review Search
The conclusion of the St John’s, Smith Square Festival was the annual sell-out Messiah given by the outstanding choir, Polyphony, with the Academy of Ancient Music – an absolute must on the London music scene, alongside their Easter Bach Passions. However many times I hear these annual Polyphony Messiahs, they always sound fresh and invigorating, and there is always something new in Stephen...
This world-renowned festival (happily on our doorstep) entered its second week with two exciting and rewarding concerts.
Conducted with flourish and style by Stephen Layton, Polyphony sang an imposing and uninterrupted programme of Austro-German pieces to an exacting and demanding degree.
Opening with a couple of motets by Schutz, it provided for a bright and cheerful start on a glorious summer's...
'This recording offers the most comprehensive compilation of Villette’s choral music in print. Layton’s interpretation skillfully supports the composer’s intent, especially in terms of text-music relationships. The Holst Singers’ diversity of tone color, pristine intonation, exploration of dynamic range, and nuances of rhythmic flexibility are consistently excellent…Layton’s balance of every tone...
'The Holst Singers create great clouds of texture, which surge, form, and melt before your ears … For a bag of musical bonbons à la violette, this disc can't be beaten'
'Whether chant-inspired, leaning towards a jazz idiom or chromaticism, the music is an unusual hybrid. The Holst Singers are eloquent and beguiling under the thoughtful direction of Stephen Layton'