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Passions abound at Easter - chiefly, but not exclusively, Bach's, after the gospel accounts. On Sunday I heard Bach's St Matthew in the Barbican Hall, from Paul McCreesh's Gabrieli Consort and Players; a few days earlier, I'd heard Arvo Part's austere 1982 Passio after St John, performed by the Hilliard Ensemble, Stephen Layton and his Holst Singers, at St John's, Smith Square. Both performances...
St John's is the most direct of the Passions, some would say the most tendentious: a couple of years ago there was a great kerfuffle following Deborah Warner's operatic production of Bach's version at ENO, where the dramatised, Englished narrative made it uncomfortably clear exactly where the evangelist was placing the blame for Jesus's fate. It makes you thankful for the general irreligion of...
This collection of some of Britten’s a cappella choral music is wide-ranging – from the Hymn to the Virgin (1930) composed at the age of 16 to the late cycle of medieval poems, Sacred and Profane (1975) composed shortly before Britten’s death. Along the way we hear the difficult setting of Gerald Manley Hopkins's AMDG (composed in 1939 at the beginning of Britten’s sojourn in America, but not...
A crack choir who sing with immaculate intonation and a sure sense of internal balance … I was left wishing there could be more
Polyphony’s exceptional energy, technical prowess and expressive flexibility make the most of every word and mood throughout this hour-long programme. This engrossing anthology of words and music comes highly recommended
A valued possession … highly recommended