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'This stunning work, brilliantly performed by Stephen Layton's chamber choir Polyphony and the Britten Sinfonia, is something no serious lover of choral music should be without'
'If you've heard them and followed the laudatory press they've gotten worldwide, you already know that this [Polyphony] is one of the world's truly great chamber choirs. Layton always gets breathtaking beauty of tone from them, as well as exquisite interpretive and dynamic nuances. They bring Macmillan's compelling sound-world to life more vibrantly than any other choir I've heard his music from...
Stephen Layton is on a roll. After his triumphant recordings of Pawel Lukaszewski's choral works he returns to Handel and three of the Chandos Anthems, "O Praise the Lord with One Consent", "Let God Arise" and "My Song Shall be Alway". His inspirational direction and choice of top soloists make this a welcome addition to earler recordings. The choir sings with their usual purity of tone and clear...
You've never heard anything quite like Sir John Tavener's "The Veil of the Temple." The work originated as an all-night, seven-hour Easter "vigil," in which form it received its U.S. premiere in July at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York. The British composer has condensed it to two hours for this first recording, taped live in London's famous Temple Church, which commissioned it and where...
In April 2002 I wrote the following about a Rubeda Canis Musica Release RCM 19705: "This disc is my choral disc of the year! I cannot see how it could be bettered, both musically, performance and recording-wise. Although it is not available as yet in the UK, I urge you to get it from the U.S. (Amazon.com can supply it by return). You will not regret the investment."
Unfortunately, that original...