Reviews
Press notices and interviews, by publication and by year.
…conductor Stephen Layton, who is surely one of the finest musicians we have.
2026
- LimelightMozart: Requiem; English worksAn evening that began with introspection ended in jubilation. Over two centuries after Mozart began composing…Concert Review
- New Zealand Arts ReviewMozart: Requiem; Tallis; Vaughan Williams; RutterThe last performance of Mozart’s Requiem I heard was a couple of years ago at the Royal Albert Hall where…Concert Review
- J-WireMozart: RequiemThe Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (SPC) presented a particularly interesting…Concert Review
2025
- LimelightBach, Mozart and HandelLayton’s spirited conducting makes the music sound as if it had been composed yesterday. English conductor…Concert Review
- BachtrackBach, Mozart and HandelThis year’s fashion of the major Australian symphony orchestras indulging in programs of 18th-century music…Concert Review
- Sydney Arts GuideBach, Mozart and HandelThe grandness of The Concert Hall within the architecturally beautiful walls of The Sydney Opera House…Concert Review
- Music City ReviewUS tour a cappella programmeOn Tuesday, October 14th, Stephen Layton’s ensemble, Polyphony, made the first of nine stops on their tour of…Concert Review
- The Arts DeskBach: Christmas OratorioIf this time of year should prompt everyone to count their blessings, then one precious musical gift shines…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineClive Osgood: English FolksongsPolyphony and Stephen Layton provide luxury casting for the performances, and the choir immediately…CD Review
- MusicWeb InternationalClive Osgood: English FolksongsClive Osgood’s arrangements of three folksongs for unaccompanied choir reflect the themes of love and the…CD Review
- BBC Radio 3 Record ReviewLet all the world in every corner sing“A new recording of one of the most symphonic Anglican anthems of them all [Henry Balfour Gardiner’s Evening…CD Review
- MusicWeb InternationalLet all the world in every corner singThe final album to be released by Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge under the leadership of Stephen Layton.CD Review
- GramophoneLet all the world in every corner sing Each piece has been beautifully moulded, every detail carefully considered and then polished to an exemplary level of sparkling opulence.CD Review
2024
- GramophoneDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“In July 2022, having established themselves in the Parisian church of Saint-Eustache, the Chapel Choir of…CD Review
- Rheinische PostDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“We find ourselves in the wrong church, and possibly also in the company of the wrong organ builder, but this…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“The choir is magnificent, emerging through former Trinity organ scholar Harrison Cole’s adroitly chosen…CD Review
- BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets‘The balance [in the Duruflé] puts you in the building in the most extraordinary way … that wonderful…CD Review
- BR-KlassikDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“Times of trouble have always produced art that strives for order and peace. The Requiem of the French…CD Review
- DiapasonDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“In July 2022, the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge [filmed] Duruflé’s Requiem in the heart of Paris… A…CD Review
- DiapasonDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“In July 2022, the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge recorded Duruflé’s Requiem in the heart of Paris, the…CD Review
- MusicWeb InternationalDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“Recently, I reviewed a very fine disc of choral and organ music by David Briggs which Stephen Layton and the…CD Review
- The New York Times (Best Classical Music Albums of 2024)Duruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“Everything about this recording is intoxicating: the Choir of Trinity College’s dreamy sound; the setting’s…CD Review
- The New York TimesDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“Note for note, Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem is an astoundingly pretty work that critics have described as “a…CD Review
- The Sunday TimesDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“Harrison Cole makes the most of the church’s mighty instrument, and the Trinity choir revels in its resonant…CD Review
- Yorkshire TimesDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“Maurice Duruflé was the ‘titulaire’ organist of St Etienne du Mont, Paris. If you walk through the streets…CD Review
- LimelightBach: St John PassionSummary: Describes an emotionally stirring, nuanced interpretation conducted with reverence.Concert Review
- Classic MelbourneBach: St John PassionBach’s first setting of the Passion, that according to St John, was given a commanding performance directed…Concert Review
- ArtsHubGrandeur: Baroque and contemporary programmeThe Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO)’s third Symphony Series concert for 2024 did indeed live up to its…Concert Review
- The Straits TimesFestive programme including VivaldiSummary: Favourable account of the festive choral concert and Layton’s direction.Concert Review
- MusicWeb InternationalDavid Briggs: Hail, gladdening Light“In 2009, Stephen Layton and the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge teamed up with David Briggs to record a…CD Review
- AllMusicDavid Briggs: Hail, gladdening Light“Various releases celebrated conductor Stephen Layton’s tenure as director of the Choir of Trinity College…CD Review
- The GuardianDuruflé: Requiem; Poulenc: Lenten Motets“During a long career, the French organist-composer Maurice Duruflé (1902-86) was a towering figure in the…CD Review
- Fanfare USABriggs: Hail, gladdening Light & other works“Layton has given Briggs a disc to treasure, and anyone who buys it will enjoy it as well. This is highly…CD Review
- GramophoneBriggs: Hail, gladdening Light & other works“In July 2022 the Chapel Choir of Trinity College Cambridge travelled to Paris to record in the church of…CD Review
- Fanfare USAAntognini: Come to me in the silence of the night & Other Choral Works“…A stunning album in every possible way, from the exalted quality of the singing in every imaginable aspect…CD Review
2023
- The GuardianBach: St John PassionSt John Passion ★★★★★ And so to JS Bach himself. Print deadlines are unforgiving things and conspire every…Concert Review
- BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewAnthems, Vol. 1“It’s a sumptuous sound… from the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, conducted by Stephen Layton. Big…CD Review
- LimelightAnthems, Vol. 1“If your idea of the English anthem is something dry and dusty, this might well change your mind. It’s two…CD Review
- Yorkshire TimesAnthems, Vol. 1“Stephen Layton will be a hard act to follow at Trinity College, Cambridge. His success in creating one of…CD Review
- GramophoneAnthems, Vol. 1Stephen Layton has nurtured the chapel choir of Trinity College Cambridge into arguably the pre-eminent mixed-voice vocal ensemble in the British Isles. CD Review
- Sydney Arts GuidePärt: Trisagion; Bach: Magnificat; Ešenvalds: Passion and ResurrectionVisiting conductor Stephen Layon from the UK led the members of SSO and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in…Concert Review
- AllMusicIvo Antognini: Come to me in the silence of the night“Among the composers contending for the status of successor to John Rutter is Ivo Antognini, who is neither…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineAnthems, Vol. 1“Broadly defined, anthems are English-language choral pieces typically composed for use in Anglican church…CD Review
- MusicWeb InternationalAnthems, Vol. 1“By the time this review is published, Stephen Layton will have left his post as Director of Music at Trinity…CD Review
- FanfareAnthems, Vol. 1“Listening straight through this disc is a moving experience, for Layton has chosen a notable list of…CD Review
- Frankfurter Allgemeine ZeitungSummer Tour 2023: Frankfurt“Even the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge’s entrance procession promised much, and expectations were not…Concert Review
- GramophoneAntognini: Come to me in the silence of the night & Other Choral Works“Ivo Antognini always writes human-scale, singable music that nonetheless manages to touch on profound…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalAntognini: Come to me in the silence of the night & Other Choral Works“Throughout his time as Director of Music at Trinity College, Cambridge (2006-2023), Stephen Layton has…CD Review
- North East PostAntognini: Come to me in the silence of the night & Other Choral Works“As soon as the first notes are sung on this highly accessible album, it immediately captures the attention…CD Review
- Opera TodayAntognini: Come to me in the silence of the night & Other Choral Works“On this disc of a cappella choral music by the Swiss-born Ivo Antognini (born 1962), issued earlier this…CD Review
- Frankfurter Neue PresseSummer Tour 2023: Frankfurt“There was an immediate sense of something exquisite and halo-ed at the concert by the Choir of Trinity…Concert Review
2022
- The Daily TelegraphMessiah at St John's Smith Square, December 2022“I come to hear this every year. For me this is when Christmas begins.” So said the man sitting next to me…Concert Review
- Planet HugillJoy and DevotionJoy and Devotion: Stephen Layton and Polyphony in seven UK premieres including Paweł Łukaszewski's mass…Concert Review
- The iBach: Christmas OratorioWith an aging and rapidly dwindling army of worshipers, Anglican churches desperately need a new role. For…Concert Review
2021
- GramophoneMcDowall: Sacred choral music“A typically meticulous recording by Layton and The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, sensitive to every…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineMcDowall: Sacred choral music“Released to celebrate the British composer’s 70th birthday, this recording surveys Cecilia McDowall’s…CD Review
- BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewMcDowall: Sacred choral music“It’s a fine recording … really well balanced and with all the choral quality and discipline we’ve come to…CD Review
- British Music Society JournalMcDowall: Sacred choral music“With this CD the discerning collector is once again in debt to Hyperion’s stimulating catalogue of…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalMcDowall: Sacred choral music“I’ve heard a good deal of Cecilia McDowall’s music in the last couple of decades. Almost invariably I’ve…CD Review
- Opera TodayMcDowall: Sacred choral music“Coinciding with Cecilia McDowall’s 70th year, this recent Hyperion disc crowns an already impressive series…CD Review
2020
- Organists' QuarterlyMäntyjärvi: Choral Music“Overwhelmingly and profoundly moving.” Jaakko Mäntyjärvi was born in Turku, Finland in 1963 and has sung in…CD Review
- Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE)Mäntyjärvi: Choral MusicJaakko Mäntyjärvi deserves his sumptuous showcase album The classical music scene in Finland seems to regard…CD Review
- GramophoneMäntyjärvi: Choral MusicJaakko Mäntyjärvi is a polymath: he is a singer, conductor and translator, but it is for his work as a…CD Review
- Helsingin SanomatMäntyjärvi: Choral MusicEven heathens surely cannot help but enjoy to the bottom of their soul the a cappella choral music of Jaakko…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalMäntyjärvi: Choral Music“It is a triumph in every respect.” I could have made it very easy for myself by simply referring to my…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalMäntyjärvi: Choral MusicThe temptation is merely to write that Stephen Layton and his Trinity College choir have done it again. So…CD Review
- Rondo ClassicMäntyjärvi: Choral MusicJaakko Mäntyjärvi (b. 1963) is probably currently Finland’s internationally most successful composer of…CD Review
2019
- GramophoneJenkins: MiserereKarl Jenkins has dedicated his new choral work to those in the Middle East who have suffered in the recent…CD Review
- Arts ATLUSA TourFounded in the 14th century, the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge is today a student ensemble with an…Concert Review
- Cleveland ClassicalUSA TourRattle off musical attractions that could pack a cathedral, and the list might include well-known orchestras…Concert Review
- Catholic HeraldFinzi - Choral WorksMelancholy lingers about much of Gerald Finzi’s oeuvre. The sadness of his early life contributed, as did his…CD Review
- Church Music QuarterlyFinzi - Choral WorksLo, the full, final sacrifice is the big work that concludes this CD: a ‘Festival Anthem’ commissioned from…CD Review
- Classical Music SentinelFinzi - Choral WorksWhen asked to name a well-known British composer, Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) is rarely one of the first ones…CD Review
- Classical Source.comFinzi - Choral WorksIt’s been a while since a recording devoted to Gerald Finzi’s shorter choral works has appeared, so this…CD Review
- GramophoneFinzi - Choral WorksWhat a beautifully crafted disc this is – not just in its quality (and it really is Trinity at their absolute…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalFinzi - Choral WorksIt has long seemed to me that, with the possible exception of Ivor Gurney, no composer of songs has responded…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalFinzi - Choral WorksA superb collection of Finzi’s shorter choral works Having known little of Finzi beyond his Clarinet Concerto…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalFinzi - Choral WorksIn this context you’ll probably look askance or completely discount the views of someone who, though lapping…CD Review
- Opera TodayFinzi - Choral WorksFinzi’s values were highly individual: his religious views were more spiritual than dogmatic. This Magnificat…CD Review
2018
- BachtrackBach: St Matthew PassionOne of the highlights of Auckland's musical life these last few years has been the semi-regular appearances…Concert Review
- Radio New ZealandBach: St Matthew PassionThe APO has already given us a concert opera this year with Verdi’s Aida but last night’s performance of…Concert Review
- The StageRoberts and Jóhannsson: Now the HeroA hundred years since the end of World War One – the war supposedly to end all wars – armed conflicts around…Concert Review
- The GuardianRoberts and Jóhannsson: Now the HeroRemembrance is not enough.” These stark words, hurled through a megaphone from a bridge that looks out over…Concert Review
- Gramophone MagazinePark: Choral WorksTwenty-something composer Owain Park is very much the rising star on the British choral scene, carving out a…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazinePark: Choral WorksCD OF THE MONTH (Choral and Song)CD Review
- Music Web InternationalPark: Choral WorksOwain Park weaves new with old, glory with grace, and might with mysticism in this terrific collection of…CD Review
- classicalsource.comPark: Choral WorksThis Hyperion release of mostly a cappella settings reports a confident and highly gifted composer, Owain…CD Review
- LimelightPark: Choral WorksMasterworks of a rising star sung by a masterly choir Owain Park has not only accompanied and sung in the…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalBach: Mass in B minorAs I listened to this excellent new recording of the B minor Mass I found myself reflecting on the progress…CD Review
- Classicstoday.comBach: Mass in B minorAll’s well, everything precisely where it should be with this new Bach B minor Mass, albeit from a source not…CD Review
- The Sunday TimesBach: Mass in B minorScholarly scruples about Bach’s recycling of material from earlier works, even secular cantatas, can never…CD Review
- Allmusic.comBach: Mass in B minorThe Bach Mass in B minor, BWV 232, assembled from bits and pieces over some years, coheres in its final form…CD Review
- GramophoneBach: Mass in B minorWhen Jonathan Freeman-Attwood reviewed the rather good B minor Mass from Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo…CD Review
- Choir and OrganBach - Mass in B minorFollowing much-praised recordings of Bach’s St John Passion and Christmas Oratorio, Stephen Layton has now…CD Review
- Badische-ZeitungGermany TourA choir with an extraordinary presence The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, under the direction of Stephen…Concert Review
- Rems-ZeitungGermany TourA stream of polyphonic waves The Festival of European Church Music: The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge…Concert Review
- Kirchenzeitung KölnGermany TourMagic moments in sacred choral music Emerging young talent showcased in Musica Sacra Nova’s Composers…Concert Review
- Neuss-Grevenbroicher ZeitungGermany TourA musical friendship For more than 30 years, The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge has been a regular guest…Concert Review
- Wormser ZeitungGermany TourThe world-famous Choir of Trinity College Cambridge performs musical gems in St Paul’s Church, Worms The…Concert Review
- Audiophile AuditionPark - Choral WorksYoung (25 years old) Owain Park is a graduate of Cambridge, where he studied with John Rutter, and later took…CD Review
- Classical Source.comBach: Christmas Oratorio33rd Christmas Festival at St John’s Smith Square: Stephen Layton conducts Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas…Concert Review
- Classical Source.comBach - Mass in B minorGrandeur, solemnity, intimacy and excitement are all handsomely conveyed in this magnificent version of…CD Review
- Kölner Stadt-AnzeigerGermany TourDazzling flowers with ancient roots College choir presented the winning entries of the festival and its own…Concert Review
- Planet HugillBach: Christmas OratorioBach’s Christmas Oratorio at St John’s Smith Square’s Christmas Festival: a strongly engaged performance…Concert Review
- Schwäbische Post/Gmünder TagespostGermany TourPerfect Cathedral Music The voices of Trinity College Choir enchant listeners in the Holy Cross Minster in…Concert Review
2017
- GramophoneStanford: Choral MusicGRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE JULY 2017Concert Review
- Opus KlassiekStanford: Choral MusicDe Engelsen zorgen ook postuum goed voor hun componisten, waarin de verschillende Engelse labels zich niet…Concert Review
- BBC Radio 3Stanford: Choral MusicA thrilling performance from The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge...the sheer impact of the voices in the…Concert Review
- Audiophile AuditionStanford: Choral MusicWhat a nice CD from Hyperion, celebrating the music of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Stanford was arguably…Concert Review
- ResMusicaStanford: Choral MusicLa tradition chorale en Angleterre est fort ancienne et l’excellence des chœurs issus de ses collèges n’est…Concert Review
- Seen and Heard InternationalBach: St John PassionAn account of the St John Passion that brought home the true meaning of EasterConcert Review
- Early Music TodayChristmas Festival 2016Choral director Stephen Layton is contemplating the upcoming St John's Smith Square Christmas Festival from…Feature Interview
- Artsfile CanadaCanada TourIt’s been 20 years since a version of The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge performed at Chamberfest. But in…Concert Review
- LimelightStanford - Choral MusicEnergy, dash, and force honour a German-trained Irishman We have long needed a first-class, user-friendly…CD Review
2016
- Music OMHBach: B minor MassBach referred to the ‘Kyrie’ and ‘Gloria’ of his Mass in B minor as “an insignificant example of my musical…Concert Review
- The AgeAustralia TourClassical Year in Review: Passion, high-quality performances in superior effortsConcert Review
- Limelight MagazineHowells - Collegium RegaleHowells still seems a bit of a rarity on disc. How did you first encounter him?Exclusive Interview
- The Seattle TimesHandel: MessiahHallelujah! A bright, brilliant ‘Messiah’ at Seattle Symphony What a difference a conductor makes. The…Concert Review
- The Adelaide AdvertiserHandel: MessiahAs composers go, Handel is a bit like Bach in that it is absolutely essential for any serious exponent of his…Concert Review
- Newcastle HeraldAustralia TourMuch of choral music is directed to the heavens, inspiring if not a belief in God then certainly a…Concert Review
- The West AustralianAustralia Tour★★★★ It doesn’t get much better than this: one of the world’s finest choirs showcasing their considerable…Concert Review
- The AustralianAustralia TourIt’s the physical separation between the singers that you notice first when the Choir of Trinity College…Concert Review
- The Daily Telegraph - SydneyAustralia TourThe scholar choristers of Trinity College Cambridge are the brainiest singers you’re likely to hear, and it…Concert Review
- The Adelaide AdvertiserAustralia TourIt was as audacious as they go. What encore could possibly follow the stunningly ecstatic final bars of…Concert Review
- Performing Arts HubAustralia Tour★★★★ As optional extras to its concert seasons of chamber music, Musica Viva Australia has for decades past…Concert Review
- The AgeAustralia Tour★★★★½ As on their 2010 Musica Viva tour, this excellent choral body began with Arvo Pärt's Bogoróditse…Concert Review
- LimelightAustralia Tour★★★★★ "A spiritually profound, sensuously crafted performance from the Rolls-Royce of choirs" At the first…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineHowells: Collegium RegaleThose who have sung Howells's church music know how fluidly he matches it with text, how closely the cadences…CD Review
- Choir and OrganHowells: Collegium RegaleThis splendid disc brings together all of the Howells's 'Collegium Regale' music for the Morning and Evening…CD Review
- EuropadiscHowells: Collegium RegaleHerbert Howells may have been an Oxford man by education, but he came to forge his closest links with the…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalHowells: Collegium RegaleThis is the second Howells disc that Stephen Layton and the Trinity College Choir have made for Hyperion and…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineHowells: Collegium RegaleHerbert Howells was arguably the most important composer of music for the Anglican church in the…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineHowells: Collegium RegaleIt was indeed fateful that Howells should have found himself in Cambridge during the Second World War in…CD Review
- The GuardianHowells: Collegium RegaleMuch as John Piper, Graham Sutherland and Geoffrey Clarke created a new aesthetic in 20th-century visual art…CD Review
- publikart.netBach: St John PassionLa Passion selon Saint Jean au Théâtre des Champs Elysées La Passion selon Saint Jean de Jean-Sébastien Bach…Concert Review
- Frankfurter Allgemeine ZeitungBach: St John PassionWitnesses of a trial An English guest performance: St John Passion in the Alte Oper Johann Sebastian Bach’s…Concert Review (translation)
- Frankfurter RundschauBach: St John PassionJesus as the ruler of his own fate Stephen Layton with a bravura performance of Bach's St John Passion at the…Concert Review (translation)
- Op-Online.deBach: St John PassionSt John Passion in the Alte Oper in Frankfurt - A British-style passion Frankfurt – They have long since…Concert Review (translation)
- Op-Online.deBach: St John PassionFrankfurt - Den lange in England wirkenden barocken Sachsen Georg Friedrich Händel haben sie längst national vereinnahmt. Und selbst bei der historischen Klangforschung sind die Briten vorn dabei. Von Klaus AckermannConcert Review
- Frankfurter RundschauBach: St John PassionJesus als Herrscher über sein Schicksal Stephen Layton mit einer bravourösen Aufführung von Bachs…Concert Review
- Frankfurter Allgemeine ZeitungBach: St John PassionZeugen einer Gerichtsverhandlung Gastspiel aus England: Johannes-Passion in der Alten OperConcert Review
- Seen and Heard InternationalRachmaninoff: VespersWith his All-Night Vigil or Vespers setting (1915) Rachmaninov tapped so deeply and cogently into the…Concert Review
- Classical-music.comHandel: MessiahA first MessiahConcert Review
- The Age, AustraliaAustralia TourClassical Year in Review: Passion, high-quality performances in superior efforts Above everything else, the…Feature
- LimelightHowells - Collegium Regale & other choral worksPersuasive, passionate accounts of some great English music. Every cloud, they say, has a silver lining. In…CD Review
2015
- Music OMHHandel: Messiah“The best bleedin’ Messiah in the country” was Heddle Nash’s self-assessment, and the same phrase is right…Concert Review
- Seen and Heard InternationalHandel: MessiahThis performance was the last in the St John’s 13 day-long 30th Christmas Festival. As in the case of the…Concert Review
- The Evening StandardBach: B minor MassThe Choir of Trinity College Cambridge is no ordinary Oxbridge choir. Fielding no fewer than 30 choral…Concert Review
- Music OMHBach: B minor MassThis is the 30th Christmas Festival at St John’s, and it has been an exceptional one in terms of variety of…Concert Review
- Music Web InternationalVarious: Yulefest!A couple of themes run through this attractive Christmas music compilation. One is the presence of a number…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphVarious: Yulefest!The Best Classical CDs for ChristmasCD Review
- DiapasonVarious: Yulefest!Le Chœur du Trinity College de Cambridge est l'un de ces ensembles d'étudiants si versatile qu'il parvient à…CD Review
- Los Angeles TimesVarious: Yulefest!Sublime singing of the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, under the direction of Stephen Layton, marks the a…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineVarious: Yulefest!Performance Recording Since going to Trinity College, Cambridge nine years ago conductor Stephen Layton has…CD Review
- Sinfini MusicVarious: American PolyphonyCenturies of puritanical preaching and religious dogma have worked to supress the eternal human drive to draw…CD Review
- The New Zealand HeraldVarious: American Polyphony5 Stars Some Aucklanders have had the pleasure of experiencing the artistry of Stephen Layton in person when…CD Review
- The Financial TimesVarious: American PolyphonyTo mark Independence Day here is a disc that makes the mid-20th century in the US seem a pinnacle of choral…CD Review
- MusicWeb InternationalVarious: American PolyphonyStephen Layton has come up with a most attractive programme of a cappella choral pieces by twentieth century…CD Review
- Classical EarLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisWakefield-born Kenneth Leighton (1929-88) left us a wonderful legacy of church music (as a boy he sang in his…CD Review
- Presto ClassicalVarious: American PolyphonyWith the USA having just celebrated Independence Day, it seems fitting that this week it should be American…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineVarious: American PolyphonyIncandescent choral glory - Polyphony is revelatory in American repertoire Performance: 5 stars Recording: 5…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineVarious: American PolyphonyStephen Layton tells Rebecca Franks how he came up with an all-American programme for his choir Polyphony…Q&A
- The Seattle TimesBaroque and Wine: SeattleDistinguished English conductor Stephen Layton led Seattle Symphony players and vocalists in a stellar…Concert Review
- Seen and Heard InternationalHaydn: CreationHaydn’s oratorio The Creation, presented here as the finale to the brief BBC season on the subject, was a…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisPerformance Recording The text of Kenneth Leighton's cantata Crucifixus pro nobis is the ecclesiastical…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisKenneth Leighton's remarkably consistent musical style means that his characteristic traits, such as…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobis"Kenneth Leighton's music is at the heart of English Cathedral repertoire," so says the introduction to…CD Review
- Sinfini MusicEšenvalds - Northern LightsThere’s a perception that classical listeners have to choose between the credible and the enjoyable: liking…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionEšenvalds - Northern LightsLayton's Choir is brilliant, make no mistake; it would also be a lie to suggest that I did not get much…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineEšenvalds - Northern LightsOne of the chief pleasures of this CD is right at the beginning—the silvery duetting of Rachel Ambrose Evans…CD Review
- Reutlinger General-AnzeigerECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
- Stuttgarter ZeitungECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
- Stuttgarter NachrichtenECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
- Ludwigsburger KreiszeitungECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
- Latvians OnlineEšenvalds - Northern LightsLatvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds has not only become one of the most celebrated composers in Latvia, but his…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalEšenvalds - Northern LightsI first encountered the music of the Latvian composer, Ēriks Ešenvalds in 2011 when I reviewed a disc of his…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineEšenvalds - Northern LightsBorn in 1977, Latvian Ēriks Ešenvalds is principally known as a composer of choral music. This album…CD Review
- Classical Music SentinelEšenvalds - Northern LightsWhen I initially heard and reviewed the first recording completely dedicated to the music of Latvian composer…CD Review
- Allmusic.comEšenvalds - Northern LightsOne critic has dubbed the music of Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds "relentless rapture," and it's true that…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisThe text of Kenneth Leighton's cantata Crucifixus pro nobis is the ecclesiastical equivalent of a snuff…CD Review
- Choir and OrganEšenvalds - Northern LightsLatvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds goes from strength to strength, if the evidence of this exemplary recording…CD Review
- The Northern EchoEšenvalds - Northern LightsThe Trinity College Choir Cambridge under the direction of Stephen Layton give superlative performances of…CD Review
- The Sunday TimesVarious: American PolyphonyThe peerless choir offer meticulously blended and shaped performances of 20th-century a cappella American…CD Review
- The OldieEšenvalds - Northern Lights & other choral worksWhat is remarkable, however, is the quality and amount of sacred music that is currently being written in…CD Review
- LimelightLeighton - Crucifixus & other choral worksEngaging take on some once-bold, modernist Anglican music. Kenneth Leighton came to prominence in the 1960s…CD Review
- Le NouvellisteSwitzerland TourEnglish translation below More than 600 people came to listen to the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge this…Concert Review
- Choir and OrganLeighton - Crucifixus & other choral worksKenneth Leighton’s best-known church work Crucifixus pro nobis is wisely placed last here, giving full…CD Review
2014
- The Arts DeskBach: B minor MassWhile the embers of the concert year are dying out around the country, you can be sure of a great blaze-up at…Concert Review
- The IndependentBach: B minor MassBach has bite under Layton's masterly direction *Concert Review
- Music OMHHandel: MessiahThis was the 20th anniversary of the now-legendary performances of Messiah by Polyphony and Stephen Layton at…Concert Review
- Northern Ireland CultureHandel: MessiahThis year’s performance of Handel’s Messiah in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast takes place just over two…Concert Review
- HBL.fiArvo Pärt: Choral MusicKonsumeras med måtta. Det är mitt råd beträffande den här skivan. Arvo Pärt, 79, letade efter en egen…CD Review
- Choir and OrganArvo Pärt: Choral MusicThe ever-excellent Polyphony and Stephen Layton have put together a very special disc of music by Pärt in…CD Review
- klassik.comArvo Pärt: Choral WorksEin über fünfzig Jahre ausgreifendes Panorama mit Chormusik des Esten Arvo Pärt: Stephen Layton und sein Ensemble Polyphony erweisen sich als kongeniale Interpreten.CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionArvo Pärt: Choral WorksPolyphony has a long association with Arvo Part’s music, including a 2003 Gramophone Award for Triodion and…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineArvo Pärt: Choral WorksGramophone Editor's Choice - October 2014CD Review
- The Arts DeskCity of London Sinfonia: Shakespeare - Let Music SoundStratford-upon-Avon calling. The City of London Sinfonia has embarked on a series of three Bard-based October…Concert Review
- Gramophone MagazineJenkins: MotetsWhen John Rutter composed The Shepherd’s Pipe Carol for the second volume of Carols for Choirs back in 1967…CD Review
- The New Zealand HeraldAuckland Philharmonia: St John PassionStephen Layton was responsible for the memorable Mass in B minor, presented by Auckland Philharmonia…Concert Review
- BachtrackAuckland Philharmonia: St John PassionThe St John Passion was originally composed for the Good Friday service in Leipzig in 1724, and Stephen…Concert Review
- Choir and OrganArvo Pärt: Choral WorksCD Review
- NPR Classical Music BlogArvo Pärt: The Silence and Awe of Arvo Pärt“Silence is like fertile soil, which, as it were, awaits our creative act, our seed" Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt is…Feature
- Russian Art and CultureHolst Singers: Radiant LightThe Holst Singers are one of Britain’s foremost choirs, having garnered many glowing reviews from the likes…Concert Review
- BachtrackHolst Singers: Radiant LightThe Temple Music series held in the beautiful Temple Church features some star studded early evening recitals…Concert Review
- Classic FMJenkins: MotetsKarl Jenkins' greatest music reinterpreted for a capella choir: John Suchet's Album of the Week 5 May 2014…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineTavener: The Veil of the TempleCD Review
- LimelightBach: Christmas OratorioA truly festive account of Bach's colourful Christmas masterpiece. Colourful, inventive and utterly…CD Review
- Large Stage LiveCanada TourChoral Splendour Every summer the Festival of the Sound runs for 3 1/2 weeks in Parry Sound, Ontario…Concert Review
- Parry Sound North StarCanada TourUnlikely encore took the house down Festival of the Sound opens with enthusiasm Many of us wake up in the…Concert Review
2013
- The TelegraphBach: Christmas OratorioBach’s Christmas Oratorio begins and ends in a great shout of joy, with ringing D major trumpets and a great…Concert Review
- OMH MusicBach: Christmas OratorioIt is a very special experience to hear Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in St John’s, Smith Square, since Bach’s…Concert Review
- The Arts DeskBach: Christmas OratorioNot every Yuletide fixture need be commercial and routine. Certainly St John’s annual Christmas Festival…Concert Review
- Planet HugillBach: Christmas OratorioAs part of the Christmas Festival at St John's Smith Square, the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the…Concert Review
- The Arts DeskBach: Christmas OratorioA flurry of timpani and a pair of trilling flutes kick things off nicely. The OAE's oboes and trumpets are…CD Review
- The Mail on SundayBach: Christmas OratorioDisc of the Week For me nothing is more majestic, or better conveys the sheer joy of Christmas, than the…CD Review
- Sinfini MusicBach: Christmas OratorioBach’s Christmas Oratorio started life as a set of related cantatas, conceived for performance on the six…CD Review
- Hi-Fi CriticBach: Christmas OratorioBrazen and celebratory, the opening of J S Bach’s Christmas Oratorio blazes into life in a Cambridge chapel…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineBach: Christmas OratorioThe superb quartet of soloists yields not a demisemiquaver to the competition. In a work incontestably…CD Review
- Presto ClassicalBach: Christmas OratorioChristmas Oratorios from Bach, Berlioz and Britten As it’s only just December, I feel it’s a little early for…CD Review
- The Sunday TimesBach: Christmas OratorioALBUM OF THE WEEK Although Bach called these six yuletide cantatas, composed in 1734, an oratorio, he…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphBach: Christmas OratorioALBUM OF THE WEEK Music seems to course through the very veins of the singers and players on this Bach…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineHandel: MessiahBuilding a Library: Handel Messiah THE BEST RECORDING: STEPHEN LAYTON Stephen Layton's musicians bring an…CD Review
- Voix des ArtsBach: Christmas OratorioFew compilations of repurposed music have been as embraced by musicians and listeners as Johann Sebastian…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalBach: Christmas OratorioEarlier this year I was very taken with Stephen Layton’s recording of Bach’s St John Passion (review). That…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineBach: Christmas OratorioDavid Mellor's Album of the Week Christmas has come early. Or at least, Bach's Christmas Oratorio has come…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionBach: Christmas OratorioThe Bach is a given—one of the most joyous works he ever wrote, it is a bit unusual in that it was not given…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 5a, 6a & 8Acis and Galatea might be the most popular of the works Handel composed for James Brydges and his ambitiously…CD Review
- International Record ReviewHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 5a, 6a & 8This second volume in Stephen Layton's and the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge's survey of Handel's…CD Review
- Seen and Heard InternationalCheltenham Festival 2013: Gloucester CathedralEvening of French Music Raises the Temperature in GloucesterConcert Review
- Rems-ZeitungGermany TourThe Choir of Trinity College Cambridge begeisterte Als nach dem Konzert an Sir John Tavener der Preis der…Concert Review
- Frankfurter Neue PresseGermany TourZart und anmutig wie der Gesang von Engeln Der „Trinity College Choir“ aus dem englischen Cambridge gastierte…Concert Review
- Badische-ZeitungGermany TourSee English below Ein großer Hörgenuss, der die Perfektion erahnen last Der "Choir of Trinity College…Concert Review
- Rems-ZeitungGermany TourThe Choir of Trinity College Cambridge begeisterte Als nach dem Konzert an Sir John Tavener der Preis der…Concert Review
- The Irish TimesHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos. 5a, 6a, & 8This is Stephen Layton's second disc devoted to the anthems Handel wrote for the Duke of Chandos, on terms…CD Review
- sinfinimusic.comHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 5a, 6a & 8Handel flourished during his early years in England under the care of several super-rich patrons. James…CD Review
- GramophoneHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 5a, 6a & 8'Three cheers for three more anthems for the Duke of Chandos to complement the same already available from…CD Review
- Early Music ReviewBach: St John PassionStephen Layton directs this intense, dramatic reading with intelligence and integrity, ably assisted by an…CD Review
- The Dominion PostBach: St John Passion'There have been many fine recordings of this work … but this is the equal of anything I have heard. Lead by…CD Review
- International Record ReviewBach: St John PassionA very welcome new recording … Stephen Layton presents an intelligently perceptive performance, beautifully…CD Review
- The GuardianHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 5a, 6a & 8Good conductors will tell a choir that the words are just as important as the music; there's no point in…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 5a, 6a & 8I suggested that the first installment in this series "could be a landmark recording". Now, four years later…CD Review
- Seen and Heard InternationalCheltenham Festival 2013: Cheltenham College ChapelVirtuoso Display by Choir of Trinity College Cambridge Less than fourteen hours after taking part in fine…Concert Review
- Seen and Heard InternationalCheltenham Festival 2013Virtuoso Display by Choir of Trinity College CambridgeConcert Review
- The GuardianCheltenham Festival 2013: FinaleProviding companion pieces to some of Benjamin Britten's core works has been the challenge for many composers…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineCheltenham Festival 2013: Cheltenham College ChapelLarge, wealthy and just that little bit smug, Trinity is, along with St John's, the college that other…Concert Review
- Seen and Heard InternationalFauré: RequiemEvening of French Music Raises the Temperature in Gloucester On the evening of what was the hottest day so…Concert Review
- Audiophile AuditionBach: St John PassionTo recap: there are five extent “versions” of Bach’s St. John Passion. I say this because today’s listening…CD Review
- The ObserverHandel: JoshuaNot short on action, the Old Testament book of Joshua charts the entry of the Israelites into the Promised…Concert Review
- The Financial TimesHandel: JoshuaThe Star of David is everywhere, as a symbol of Jewish unity. The senior Israelite wears a kippah, denoting…Concert Review
- Bachtrack.comHandel: JoshuaIn spite of the fact that a Handel oratorio, however renowned, provides limited opportunities for staging…Concert Review
- Classical Source.comPoulenc: Paradise and PurgatoryThe City of London Sinfonia festival devoted to the music of Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) ended in…Concert Review
- Gramophone MagazineBach: St John PassionStephen Layton’s outstanding new St John is about as state-of-the-art a Bach Passion recording as you’ll…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphBach: St John PassionFor many, the story of Christ’s arrest, trial and Crucifixion finds its perfect musical incarnation in Bach’s…Concert Review
- SINFINIMUSIC.comBach: St John Passionsinfinimusic.com Andrew Stewart listens to Stephen Layton and Polyphony's recording of Bach's St John Passion…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalBach: St John PassionBach : St John Passion - Music Web International Stephen Layton and Polyphony perform the St. John Passion…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphBach: St John Passion5 Stars On Good Friday at London’s St John’s Smith Square, Stephen Layton will conduct Polyphony and the…CD Review
- The ObserverBach: St John PassionConductor Stephen Layton, top soloists, the expert choir of Polyphony and the incomparable Orchestra of the…CD Review
- Presto ClassicalBach: St John PassionI seem to spend a lot of time in these newsletters enthusing about new discoveries, revived rarities or fresh…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineBach: Christmas Oratorio"... the 38 mixed voices of Trinity College Choir [are] very well trained, especially in matters of firm text…CD Review
- Fanfare USABach - Christmas OratorioOwing to the peculiar nature of print media I’m used to writing about Christmas recordings on some of the…CD Review
- Kirchenzeitung KölnGermany TourSee below for English Translation Dirigieren mit den Augen Tipps von “Ausnahmechorleiter” aus Cambridge Köln…Feature
- Kölner Stadt-AnzeigerGermany TourSee below for English Translation Meister aus England Konzert: Der Chor des Trinity College Cambridge…Concert Review
- Schwäbische Post/Gmünder TagespostGermany TourSee below for English Translation Ein faszinierendes Chorstrahlen Preisträger-Konzert des “Choir of Trinity…Concert Review
- The Sunday TimesBach: Christmas OratorioThen came the Christmas Oratorio, in a vigorous, meticulous realisation by The Choir of Trinity College…Concert Review
2012
- Time Out Hong KongCity Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong: Mozart RequiemYou’ve got to hand it to Die Konzertisten: getting the founder of renowned choral group Polyphony to head up…Concert Review
- The Arts DeskChristmas Festival 2012Messiahs of all kinds multiply at this time of year: the meek and the threadbare as well as the proud and…Concert Review
- The New Zealand HeraldBach: B minor MassJudging by the near-capacity audience for Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's performance on Thursday of Bach's…Concert Review
- bachtrack.comBach: B minor MassThe Mass in B minor was completed in 1749, the year before Bach’s death. Much of the work consists of music…Concert Review
- Gramophone MagazineHowells: Requiem & other works, Gramophone AwardEven by the exalted standards of previous offerings from Stephen Layton and his gifted Trinity College…CD Review
- The Mail on SundayBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St NicolasBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & Saint Nicolas - The Mail on Sunday My Christmas Album of the Year is yet…CD Review
- The Arts DeskBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St Nicolas2013 will be Britten’s centenary, so brace yourself for an onslaught of new and reissued recordings over the…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St NicolasA Ceremony of Carols is most frequently heard sung by boy trebles – there is also an SATB arrangement by…CD Review
- The Sunday TimesBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St NicolasWith this ideal coupling, Stephen Layton and his choral forces are getting in early with Christmas and…CD Review
- The Financial TimesBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St NicolasBritten's joyous cycle of nine carols is so closely associated with boys' voices that it comes as a surprise…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St NicolasAlthough we tend to associate Britten's A Ceremony of Carols with the timbre of boy trebles, it was…CD Review
- Avvenire.itBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St NicolasBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & Saint Nicolas - avvenire.it Compie settant'anni e non li dimostra A Ceremony…CD Review
- WQXR.orgBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St NicolasMusic Album of the Week Unlike many of his contemporaries and forbears in the classical music world, Benjamin…CD Review
- Classical SourceBach: St John PassionIt is a perilously short fall from the grace of tradition to the blight of routine, and it would be…Concert Review
- The GuardianBach: St John PassionPolyphony's Good Friday performance of Bach's St John Passion has become an annual fixture, but there was no…Concert Review
- The ObserverBach: St John PassionStephen Layton has forged his own, near folkloric tradition by conducting his elite choir, Polyphony, in…Concert Review
- Classical Music SentinelHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksI may not always like the music, but never has a recording of choral music conducted by Stephen Layton failed…CD Review
- Choir and Organ MagazineHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksThis is a fine programme for Howells fans, eschewing the 'Coll. Reg.' canticles and the organ works, and…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksWill only male choirs do for Howells's sacred music? So previous commentators have insisted, though only the…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksIn a work intended to console, it's important that the actual sound the choir makes is warmly consoling. It…CD Review
- The Buffalo NewsHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksThe Choir of Trinity College, a group going back to the 14th century, brings a luminous, beautifully balanced…CD Review
- The Mail on SundayHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksMy Best Choral CD is from Hyperion and showcases music by the still underrated Herbert howells. Stephen…CD Review
- The GuardianHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksThe death from polio in 1935 of Herbert Howells' nine-year-old son Michael left a permanent mark on his…CD Review
- blog.codaex.deHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksDer englische Komponist Herbert Howells (1892-1983) war eine überaus interessante Persönlichkeit in der…CD Review
- BBC MusicHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksHerbert Howells' Requiem must be one of the most beautiful and searingly moving works in the entire English…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazinePoulenc: Half Monk - Half RascalNo one is pretending Poulenc's melodies and instrumental music are without their performing problems. But…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalPoulenc: Half Monk - Half RascalIt was the critic Claude Rostand, in 1950, who first adopted the phrase “moine ou voyou” to describe Francis…CD Review
- Classical MusicPoulenc: Half Monk - Half Rascal"Half monk, half rascal, they called him" , Poulenc's deep religous conviction shining through just as…CD Review
- Fanfare USAPoulenc: Half Monk - Half RascalThe title of this album, Half Monk, Half Rascal —originally coined as “half monk, half thug” by critic Claude…CD Review
- Choir and Organ MagazinePoulenc: Half Monk - Half RascalThe old rouge would have kissed them all, the men twice over. Poulenc may have created am impression of…CD Review
- The AgeBach: St John PassionA TIMELY Lenten celebration, this performance of the shorter of Bach's two great Passion settings impressed…Concert Review
- The Sydney Morning HeraldBach: St John PassionA TIMELY Lenten celebration, this performance of the shorter of Bach's two great Passion settings impressed…Concert Review
- Seen and Heard InternationalVarious: Conquering the AntarcticAs part of its 40th anniversary season the City of London Sinfonia is touring this programme, which marks the…Concert Review
- South Wales AngusVarious: Conquering the AntarcticOne can never be sure of the right response to Scott's doomed Antarctic expedition, if only because the…Concert Review
- The GuardianVarious: Conquering the AntarcticThe City of London Sinfonia's commemoration of the centenary of Robert Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition…Concert Review
- Birmingham Express & StarVarious: Conquering the AntarcticWhat superb timing – a concert celebrating a heroic struggle against the deep freeze of the Antarctic was…Concert Review
- The TimesVarious: Conquering the AntarcticIf you want to put Britain’s current cold snap into perspective, you couldn’t do better than attend this…Concert Review
- dailyclassicalmusic.comPoulenc: Half Monk - Half RascalI was completely befuddled by the first words on the booklet cover: 'Half Monk' and 'Half Rascal'. Initially…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksI’d scarcely sent off my review of the fine recording of the Howells Requiem by Paul McCreesh than this new…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphHowells: Requiem & Other Choral WorksHerbert Howells (1892-1983) perfectly understood the way that liturgical music could stir the spirits. His…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazinePoulenc: Half Monk - Half RascalLayton and the DNVE follow Praulins with PoulencCD Review
- theartsdesk.comPoulenc: Half Monk - Half Rascal“A critic said that there is both a monk and a street urchin in me. That is an accurate description of my…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St NicolasAs the Britten centenary looms into view, it is good to be able to offer an enthusiastic welcome to this…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineVarious - Beyond all mortal dreams‘Predominantly tonal and broadly accessible’ is note-writer Gabriel Crouch’s summation of the American choral…CD Review
2011
- American Record GuideVarious: Beyond All Mortal DreamsOver an hour's worth of American music recorded by a British choir and none of it was composed by Eric…CD Review
- ClassicalSource.comHandel: MessiahOxygen was at a premium on a wet, unseasonably warm December evening, but Polyphony and the Academy of…Concert Review
- The Daily TelegraphChristmas Festival 2011I don't regard myself as more than averagely sentimental and there isn't too much music that reduces me to…Concert Review
- ClassicalSource.comChristmas Festival 2011An aspiration of many years’ standing has been to listen to J. S. Bach’s cantatas following the liturgical…Concert Review
- The Daily TelegraphVarious: Christmas FestivalI don't regard myself as more than averagely sentimental and there isn't too much music that reduces me to…Concert Review
- The TimesBritten: A Ceremony of Carols & St NicolasStephen Layton transformed this from an average, middle-class seasonal celebration into a magnificent musical…Concert Review
- San Francisco Classical VoiceVarious: Beyond All Mortal DreamsThe U.S. and Canada may be secular nations, but you’d never know it from Beyond All Mortal Dreams: American A…CD Review
- German ReviewPraulins: The Nightingale*German Text follows below the English*CD Review
- SA-CD.netPraulins: The NightingaleDanish recorder virtuoso Michala Petri had collaborated with a choir several times during her career, but she…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalPraulins: The NightingaleThese are all world premiere recordings and feature the combination of Michala Petri’s flute, the Danish…CD Review
- Sächsische ZeitungPraulins: The NightingaleGrenzlos nah am Geschehen Für die dänische Flötistin Michala Petri scheint nichts unm¨glich. Jetz singt sie…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazinePraulins: The NightingaleLayton in Denmark for another Baltic VoyageCD Review
- Fanfare USAPraulins: The NightingaleWould that all “concept albums,” particularly those of new music, come out as well as this. Recorder player…CD Review
- ClassicalSource.comSchnittke: Choir Concerto; MinnesangI well remember the first time I heard a piece of Schnittke’s, as a student at the Huddersfield Festival, the…CD Review
- Interlude.hkVarious: Beyond All Mortal DreamsSome of the best choral discs, in my mind, have come from British choirs exploring repertoire outside of the…CD Review
- wqxr.orgVarious: Beyond All Mortal DreamsIs there a contemporary American choral music sound? A growing number of American composers have banded…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineVarious: Beyond All Mortal DreamsIf this is a representative cross-section of unaccompanied American choral music since the Second World War…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalVarious: Beyond All Mortal DreamsAll but two of the composers represented here are still alive, so the word “contemporary” might easily have…CD Review
- savd.com.auVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2In 1997, the Holst Singers and Stephen Layton produced a disc that immediately became a cult classic and a…CD Review
- The GuardianCelebration of Nicholas MawIt is often said of Nicholas Maw, who died in 2009, that he was born at the wrong time. The lyrical…Concert Review
- The TimesCelebration of Nicholas MawA rhapsodic critic once said: “For generations people will be buying tickets to hear his music”. It’s a…Concert Review
- Icareifyoulisten.comCelebration of Nicholas MawThe British composer Nicholas Maw (1935 – 2009) received mixed reception during his life; dubbed a…Concert Review
- The TelegraphBBC Proms 2011Many years ago, in what might be seen as an extreme form of “authenticity”, I sang in a performance of…Concert Review
- The GuardianBBC Proms 2011Founded by the late Richard Hickox, the City of London Sinfonia reaches its 40th anniversary this year. One…Concert Review
- The ObserverBBC Proms 2011Another new cantata with two singers – a tenor (Ian Bostridge) and a baritone (Roderick Williams) – ventured…Concert Review
- The Financial TimesBBC Proms 2011The Prom the night before brought another major premiere (though not a BBC commission). This was Colin…Concert Review
- The New StatesmanBBC Proms 2011Musical memorials take many forms, as Sunday night's Prom elegantly demonstrated. A concert dedicated to…Concert Review
- The Evening StandardBBC Proms 2011It was Richard Hickox who, with a characteristically ebullient phone call in 2008, just three days before his…Concert Review
- Limelight: The Classical Music & Arts Website; ABC Classic FMVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2This release focuses on Russian composers from the early 20th-century – including some émigré composers – who…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionVarious: Beyond All Mortal DreamsThis album is a dual celebration of sorts; American choral music coming into its own as a distinct and…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineVarious: Beyond All Mortal DreamsStephen Layton and the Trinity College Choir unearth choral works of rare beauty. First, a health warning: it…CD Review
- mattnielsen.comVarious: Beyond All Mortal DreamsWhen I first heard that Trinity College was putting out a recording of all American music I started…CD Review
- International Record ReviewEsenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral WorksWithin seconds I knew I was going to adore this CD and the music of Eriks Ešenvalds … This is a performance…CD Review
- klassiekezaken.nlEsenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral WorksDe Letse componist Eriks Ešenvalds speelt een wonderlijk spel met de beleving van gezongen tekst. Er is volop…CD Review
- Entartete MusikEsenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral WorksPolyphony and Hyperion Records have done more to broaden our choral taste than any other choir or record…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionEsenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral WorksEriks Esenvalds (b. 1977) is a Latvian composer who, according to the notes, comes from a new Latvia free of…CD Review
- dailyclassicalmusic.comEsenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral Works'When composing a work, I give myself to the temptation of the creative work -- a journey, whose twisting…CD Review
- American Record GuideEsenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral WorksHyperion has done it again, with this stunning album of mostly sacred choral works by the younger-generation…CD Review
- Limelight, ABC Classic FMEsenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral WorksA "singing revolution" of vocal magic from Polyphony, Stephen Layton and Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds…CD Review
- The Arts DeskPraulins: The NightingaleYou don’t find many discs of music for recorder and a capella voices. Veteran Danish virtuoso Michala Petri…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineEsenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral WorksEšenvalds responds to the purpose of the words he sets, occupying similar choral territory to the likes of…CD Review
- blog.codaex.deEšenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral WorksIn den drei Republiken des Baltikum gab es immer schon eine ausgeprägt hochklassige und vielfältige…CD Review
- opusklassiek.nlEsenvalds: Passion and Resurrection & Other Choral WorksDe revolutie van 1991 in Letland is de geschiedenis ingegaan als de ‘zingende revolutie’. Duizenden Letten…CD Review
- Classics Today.comVarious - Beyond all mortal dreamsIt’s true–and I’ve commented on this before–that it’s a relatively rare thing to hear a European choir giving…CD Review
2010
- Audiophile AuditionVarious: Baltic ExchangeHyperion continues to astound by coming up with unknown and eminently-listenable music from various parts of…CD Review
- Skånska DagbladetDanish National Vocal EnsembleKörsång när den är som allra bästConcert Review
- The GuardianBach: St John PassionThe last-minute withdrawal of the tenor Evangelist from a performance of Bach's St John Passion would…Concert Review
- The TabEšenvalds: Passion & ResurrectionEriks Esenvalds clearly felt like a million dollars at the end of Thursday's performance of his oratorio…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalVarious: Baltic ExchangeBaltic Exchange is an apt title for a selection of choral works by four Baltic composers sung by a British…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineVarious: Baltic ExchangeA fascinating collection of choral works by composers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, centring on a Mass…CD Review
- Classical Music MagazineVarious: Baltic ExchangeLayton delves into Baltic melting pot A regular visitor since the lifting of the iron curtain, Stephen Latyon…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2'The programme is scrupulously prepared, with excellent pronunciation, idiomatic timbres anda fine fusion of…CD Review
- The OldieBriggs: Mass for Notre DameOur own great latter-day improviser – a man who in his fantasy organ world David Hyde Pierce would probably…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2I can’t believe that it’s been 13 years since Ikon came out by these same forces. At the time I considered it…CD Review
- The TelegraphVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2Performing with insight and commendable Russian sonority, the Holst Singers have cast their net wide in this…CD Review
- International Record ReviewVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2The remarkable performances of the Holst Singers, securely balanced on the tightrope between pianissimo…CD Review
- The AustralianAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirThe cacophony of Canberra politics temporarily gave way on Wednesday night to sounds far more harmonious. The…Concert Review
- The Age, MelbourneAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirVisitors for Musica Viva representing the Oxbridge and wider British cathedral choral traditions, the Choir…Concert Review
- The Manly DailyAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirIt was obvious from the opening short but lovely Arvo Part Slavonic Ave Maria, which quickly melded into an…Concert Review
- The Adelaide AdvertiserAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirFlawless in every aspect of choral technique and interpretation, the 30 undergraduates of the college created…Concert Review
- West AustralianAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirTickets to the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre have sold out and…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineVarious: Baltic ExchangeNo longer the preserve of their own choirs, the choral music of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania now flows in…CD Review
- The Sydney Morning HeraldAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirSoundtrack to a revolution shows rare beauty On the night of June 10, 1988, more than 300,000 Estonians -…Concert Review
- North Shore TimesAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirExtraordinary ensemble cohesion was the hallmark of the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge during its concert…Concert Review
- The Hobart MercuryAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirTrinity College Choir began its first tour of Australia in Hobart. The program order emphasized harmonic and…Concert Review
- The AustralianAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirChoral scholars offer a masterclass in sacred music On a chilly evening in Hobart, the Choir of Trinity…Concert Review
- Gramophone MagazineBriggs: Mass for Notre DameEditor's Choice These works give the lie to the old adage that the natural enemy of the Brits is the French…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineBriggs: Mass for Notre DameThis is a mass with a difference: not only does it have four interpolated organ improvisations as part and…CD Review
- International Record ReviewBriggs: Mass for Notre DameThere's only one word for this. Spectacular. Let's start with the recording. Gloucester Cathedral is an…CD Review
- Choir and OrganBriggs: Mass for Notre DameDavid Briggs has spent much time and persistent care in transcribing improvisations by Pierre Ccochereau…CD Review
- Classical Music SentinelBriggs: Mass for Notre DameAll of you who have become convinced that any new music being written these days is only going to be either…CD Review
- The Oxford TimesBach: MotetsThe London-based Holst Singers have been called “one of Britain’s foremost choirs”, and after hearing them at…Concert Review
- Opera News NYCHandel: MessiahAny Handel oratorio needs to be an elastic entity in our day, just as it was in Handel’s. Considering the…CD Recording
- Classics Today.comVarious: Baltic ExchangeThis is a major release that choral music fans will not want to miss. Here is a program of modern works (most…CD Review
- Odense Symphony OrchestraBach: St John PassionStunning Easter experienceConcert Review
- The Irish TimesVarious: Baltic ExchangeThink of Baltic choral music and you probably think of something by Arvo Pärt. This new CD leaves him aside…CD Review
- The Philadelphia InquirerVarious: Baltic ExchangeEarly this year when the Philadelphia choir the Crossing unveiled great music by the little-known young…CD Review
- klassiekezaken.nlVarious: Baltic ExchangeDoor de bekendheid van hun koormuziek kan de indruk bestaan dat boven de Noordzee alleen Pärt en Rautavaara…CD Review
- The Arts DeskVarious: Baltic ExchangeA fascinating anthology of contemporary a capella vocal works from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the music…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalHandel: MessiahIn a sense this release brings my experience to date of Messiah on CD full circle. The very first Messiah…CD Review
- The Canberra TimesAustralia TourBritish musician Stephen Layton, who will conduct the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge on their Australian…Feature
- The IndependentBach: Christmas OratorioWith much-loved classics, familiarity can breed such content that we become blind to their strangenesses. So…Concert Review
2009
- performing.artshub.com.auHandel: MessiahI noticed in the program notes to the sold-out performance of Messiah last night that the first performance…Concert Review
- The Age, MelbourneHandel: MessiahAMONG several performances of Handel's timeless oratorio at this time of year, those offered by the Melbourne…CD Review
- The Sacred Arts, USALukaszewski: Via CrucisPawel Lukaszewski's Via Crucis presents us with a rare occurrence in the world of modern music: a prayerful…CD Review
- Kristeligt DagbladHandel: MessiahJulefryd med Stephen Layton Julen er traditionernes fest, og en af dem er at lægge øre til Händels oratorium…CD Review
- Brisbane CourierHandel: MessiahWhen British conductor Stephen Layton directs Handel's Messiah he goes for a close-knit ensemble, neat…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphHandel: MessiahPolyphony’s cultured, humane performances of Handel’s masterpiece have long been a pre-Christmas fixture at…CD Review
- ottosbaroquemusick.co.ukHandel: MessiahMake no mistake, this set is a bright star in a lighted firmament of existing Handel Messiahs. This newly…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalHandel: MessiahTHUMBS UP Choosing a version of Messiah used to be comparatively easy. If you wanted a big-scale performance…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineJackson: Not no faceless AngelContemporary choral works of a special beauty and appealCD Review
- Gramophone MagazineHandel: MessiahAn engaging and likeable Messiah from Layton and PolyphonyCD Review
- Hifi CriticHandel: MessiahAnother Christmas-related work (even if its fame spread from the Dublin premiere at Eastertide), this…CD Review
- The Sunday TimesHandel: MessiahYou could argue that the radiant soprano Julia Doyle’s coloratura in Rejoice is a little effortful, that the…CD Review
- Voix des ArtsHandel: MessiahThe annual approach of Advent carries with it a certain dread for many musicians and music lovers for it is…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineHandel: MessiahStephen Layton has conducted Messiahs sporting choirs mustering 18 to 2,000 singers (and orchestras ranging…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineHandel: MessiahChristmas wouldn't be Chrismtas without a Messiah release, and there are few finer exponents of this great…CD Review
- ClassicsToday.comHandel: MessiahPerformances of Messiah are never difficult to find, especially during the Christmas and Easter holiday…CD Review
- The Detroit NewsHandel: MessiahHere is one of the finest choral performances among the myriad recordings of "Messiah." The choristers glide…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionHandel: MessiahThis is a very personal, very intimate reading of Messiah. I was almost put off completely when the Overture…CD Review
- San Francisco Classical Voice.California Tour: Trinity College ChoirTrinity Goes to TinseltownConcert Review
- ClassicsToday.comJackson: Not no faceless AngelDon't be surprised if you have to stop and repeat the first two tracks of this musically compelling…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aarly in his London career Handel did not have a chance to write much massed vocal music. The operas were…CD Review
- musicalcriticism.comHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aThese three Anthems for Cannons or Chandos Anthems as they are more widely known, make for a glorious…CD Review
- Kristeligt DagbladHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aHändels kirkemusik "Chandos-hymnerne" består af 11 værker, som Händel komponerede fra august 1717 til…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphJackson: Not no faceless AngelGabriel Jackson is one of the growing number of composers riding the trend for ecstatic “spiritual” music…CD Review
- bbc.co.ukJackson: Not no faceless AngelGabriel Jackson seems ubiquitous at the moment. Last year his magnificent 40-part motet, Sanctum est verum…CD Review
- The ObserverJackson: Not no faceless AngelStephen Layton's apparently ceaseless offerings for Hyperion continue with this disc of contemplative pieces…CD Review
- MusicalCriticism.comJackson: Not no faceless AngelStephen Layton and his choir Polyphony have been performing and recording new choral works for several years…CD Review
- fonoforumHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aCD Review
- Music Web InternationalLukaszewski: Via CrucisHyperion have just released what I take to be the label’s second Łukaszewski disc. The Via Crucis (The Way of…CD Review
- ClassicalSource.comLukaszewski: Via CrucisFrom the arresting opening eruption, reminiscent of the famous ‘O fortuna’ from Carl Orff’s “Carmina burana”…CD Review
- allmusic.comHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aThere has never been a wealth of satisfying recordings of Handel’s "Chandos Anthems" available, so admirers…CD Review
- ClassicsToday.comHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aHandel was fundamentally a theatrical composer, in the sense that no matter what the genre, his guiding…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionJackson: Not no faceless AngelGabriel Jackson is a Bermuda-born Englander who descends from an Anglican clergyman and has himself an…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aSoloists and chorus alike excel in three of Handel's Chandos Anthems This contains three of the 11 so-called…CD Review
- The Age, Melbourne, AustraliaHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aThe recent slew of Handel releases in honour of the 250th anniversary of his death has reinforced the…CD Review
- The ObserverLukaszewski: Via CrucisThis devotional piece, which makes a noble addition to the music of Passiontide, could be seen as a…CD Review
- The Church TimesCambridge Cantat 800: Trinity College ChoirIn good voice after 800 years Garry Humphreys samples a festival of Cambridge choirs AS CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY…Concert Review
- Kristeligt DagbladLukaszewski: Via CrucisKorsvejen på nye toner De 15 stationer på Jesu korsvej er børnelærdom for de fleste, men det er især via den…CD Review
- The GuardianLukaszewski: Via CrucisThis devotional piece, which makes a noble addition to the music of Passiontide, could be seen as a…CD Review
- allmusic.comLukaszewski: Via CrucisPolish composer Pawel Lukaszewski has created a virtual anomaly: a contemporary, large-scale liturgical work…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineLukaszewski: Via CrucisPerformance Recording Thanks principally to Stephen Layton's advocacy, Pawel Lukaszewski's reputation is…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineJackson: Not no faceless AngelPerformance Recording Choral pieces which react in very specific ways to verbal and semantic nuance so easily…CD Review
- MinnesotaHandel: MessiahIf you only catch one oratorio this year, it will probably be Handel's "Messiah." It is, after all, a…Concert Review
- Music Web InternationalHandel: Messiah'The Polyphony Messiah' as I have taken to calling it, has been the final concert of the year for me for the…Concert Review
- The ObserverHandel: Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aStephen Layton is on a roll. After his triumphant recordings of Pawel Lukaszewski's choral works he returns…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineLukaszewski: Via CrucisMemorable and impressive moments - but no big sweep to these stations Hyperion's earlier disc of…CD Review
- International Record ReviewLukaszewski: Via CrucisThis is a near-hour-long oratorio for three soloists, chorus and orchestra, and a narrator speaking in Latin…CD Review
- The IndependentHandel: MessiahThe first two days of January are a drab time in Scotland, after the junketing of Hogmanay. So there's a…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineHandel - Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aWith Handel’s stock never higher it might seem that the anniversary year needs do no more than spotlight a…CD Review
- BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewHandel - Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aImpressive results all round. A well-drilled chorus and Layton and the Academy musicians lovingly etching…CD Review
- Classica Répertoire FranceHandel - Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aHaendel composa ses onze Chandos Anthems (aussi appelés << Anthems pour Cannons , du nom de la chapelle…CD Review
- International Record ReviewHandel - Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aThe disc’s cover bears no claim to being the first instalment of a complete recording of the anthems Handel…CD Review
- The Mail on SundayHandel - Chandos Anthems Nos 7, 9 & 11aWith Handel, the pick of the crop is a beautifully recorded CD of three of the 11 Chandos anthems from the…CD Review
- The New York TimesCalifornia TourSitting front and center at a recent Trinity Choir of Cambridge concert at Grace Cathedral was, sonically…Concert Review
2008
- Classical Source.comTormis: Choral MusicThe folk-steeped a cappella choral music of Estonian Veljo Tormis (born 1930) is unlikely to set the world…CD Review
- The Irish IndependentBach: St John PassionConcert Review
- Gramophone MagazineHandel: Dettingen Te DeumCD Review
- Gramophone MagazineLukaszewski: Choral MusicCD Review
- International Record ReviewLukaszewski: Choral MusicCD Review
- BBC Music MagazineLukaszewski: Choral MusicCD Review
- The Daily TelegraphLukaszewski: Choral MusicWhether with Polyphony or his Cambridge choir, Stephen Layton is constantly seeking out young or neglected…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionLukaszewski: Choral MusicHyperion offers us more of the unknown-but-worthy in this collection of sacred music by Polish composer…CD Review
- Musical Criticism.comLukaszewski: Choral MusicLukaszewski: Choral Music - Musical Criticism.com Stephen Layton adds yet another accomplished choral…CD Review
- Opera News, New YorkLukaszewski: Choral MusicThe young Polish composer Pawel Lukaszewski (b. 1968) has produced an impressive body of sacred choral music…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalLukaszewski: Choral MusicThe name of the Polish composer, Pavel Lukaszewski, may be new to some readers, as it was to me. He was born…CD Review
- Classical CDLinley: The Song of MosesAnother indispensable release in the English Orpheus series. The adventurous will find their curiosity amply…CD Review
- The Daily MailLinley: The Song of MosesLinley might well have been an English answer to Mozart, as this fine short oratorio shows.CD Review
- Fanfare USALukaszewski: Choral MusicStephen Layton is arguably the finest choral director working today in the U.K., a country seemingly bursting…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineLinley: The Song of MosesOne of the best finds yet in Hyperion’s English Orpheus seriesCD Review
- The Daily TelegraphHandel: Dettingen Te DeumCD Review
- The TimesHandel: Dettingen Te DeumPrepare the sand buckets: the opening of Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum is incendiary. Trinity College Choir, the…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineHandel: Dettingen Te DeumCD Review
- BBC Music MagazineHandel: Dettingen Te DeumCD Review
- The ObserverHandel: Dettingen Te DeumCD Review
- Goldberg MagazineHandel: Dettingen Te DeumCD Review
- The TimesTormis: Choral MusicStephen Layton and his superlative choir deliver an inspiring programme of a capella choral works by the…CD Review
- Classics Today.comTormis: Choral MusicIt's hard to imagine a composer "retiring" (as good an idea as it might be for some we can think of), but…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineTormis: Choral MusicCD Review
- International Record ReviewTormis: Choral MusicCD Review
- Gramophone MagazinePoulenc: GloriaCD Review
- The ScotsmanTormis: Choral MusicCD Review
- International Record ReviewPoulenc: GloriaPoulenc’s Catholic faith is much written about. The familiar contradictions in his character, the saint…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphTormis: Choral MusicCD Review
- The ObserverPoulenc: GloriaCD Review
- BBC Music MagazineTormis: Choral MusicCD Review
- The IndependentPoulenc: GloriaCD Review
- BBC Music MagazinePoulenc: Gloria'Stephen Layton's tight control of his forces, both choral and orchestral, lends impeccable ensemble and…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphPoulenc: GloriaThis is a real treat. Polyphony brings its characteristic incisiveness, precision and evenness of tone to…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalPoulenc: GloriaI was 13 or 14 years old when I first heard Poulenc’s Gloria. Not knowing anything by or about this composer…CD Review
- Musical Criticism.comPoulenc: GloriaAll things considered, Poulenc's Gloria has fared remarkably well on record, with recent versions by Jansons…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionPoulenc: GloriaFrancis Poulenc’s compositions were known for their color, wit and charm in the 1920s and 1930s. But up to…CD Review
- Musical Criticism.comTormis: Choral MusicVeljo Tormis is a composer who has had, until recently, relatively little recognition outside of his native…CD Review
- The TimesBach: St John PassionWhenever you're in the presence of the vocal ensemble Polyphony and their conductor Stephen Layton you begin…Concert Review
- The Irish ExaminerBach: St John PassionConcert Review
- BBC Music MagazinePoulenc: Gloria & MotetsIf audience participation muddies the join-in carols in the King’s disc, here’s something cool, poised and…CD Review
- Quobuz FranceLukaszewski: Choral MusicÀ première vue, le langage musical de Pawel Lukaszewski (né en 1958) présente d’évidentes affinités avec les…CD Review
- The Northern EchoLukaszewski: Choral MusicThe Choir of Trinity gives an immaculate performance of the seductively beautiful spiritual music of the…CD Review
- Classica Répertoire FranceHandel: Dettingen Te DeumCD Review
- The Sunday TimesHandel: Dettingen Te DeumCD Review
- International Record ReviewHandel: Dettingen Te DeumCD Review
- Classica Répertoire FranceLukaszewski: Choral MusicLa découverte du mois L’univers de Pawel Lukaszewski déploie avec vigueur une richesse mélodique digne des…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazinePoulenc: GloriaCD Review
- American Record GuideTormis: Choral MusicCD Review
- Classical Music.comLukaszewski: Choral MusicVocal effects including susurration are used by the 40-year-old Polish composer, but it is the emotionality…CD Review
- The Choir BBC Radio 3Lukaszewski: Choral Music“It’s a while since I’ve been able to catch up on some of the new CD releases to hit the shelves. There have…CD Review
- abeillemusique.comLukaszewski - Choral MusicAprès Lutosławski, Górecki, Penderecki, voici une nouvelle génération de compositeurs polonaise, représentée…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineHandel - Dettingen Te DeumTime was when Trinity College entrusted its musical worship to male voices of variable quality. The admission…CD Review
- The Dominion Post, New ZealandHandel - Dettingen Te DeumWhenever we see the name Te Deum before a piece of music we know we are going to get a spectacular display…CD Review
- The GuardianPoulenc - Gloria & MotetsThe death of a close friend in a car accident in 1936 turned Poulenc back towards his Roman Catholic roots…CD Review
2007
- The TimesStephen Layton: InterviewStephen Layton interviewed by Richard Morrison (The Times, 16 November 2007) Master and Commander Every child…Interview
- BBC Music MagazineBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsCD Review
- Gramophone MagazineBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsCD Review
- The ObserverBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsBruckner lovers will be familiar with his motets, but may not know his glorious Mass No 2, which shares their…CD Review
- The ObserverBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsThis recording done in the resonant acoustic of Ely Cathedral has much to recommend it. Polyphony is one of…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsWith its refracted echoes of Palestrina, Bruckner's E minor Mass for choir and wind band stands as a sublime…CD Review
- Bay Area ReporterBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsHyperion is on a roll. Its superb new CD of Anton Bruckner's choral music, with the chorus Polyphony under…CD Review
- American Record GuideBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsI’ve had nothing but good things to say about Polyphony in works by Rutter, Whitacre, and maybe a few others…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsCD Review
- The Evening StandardBBC Proms: PolyphonyBlending is the secret of great choral singing. Stephen Layton's fine chamber choir, Polyphony, has mastered…Concert Review
- The Aberdeen Evening ExpressBBC Proms: PolyphonyAlabaster rendered in sound Stephen Layton's choir, Polyphony, have mastered their elusive art to perfection…Concert Review
- The Irish TimesIrish Chamber Choir: The Eternal FeminineTwentieth-century music may have a bad reputation, but a few extra chairs had to be put out at the National…Concert Review
- The IndependentAldeburgh Festival: PolyphonyMembers of the audience who arrived with cushions, to counter the unforgiving Maltings seats, must have felt…Concert Review
- Classics Today.comLauridsen: Nocturnes'This is great stuff, and it's given its best imaginable realization by Stephen Layton and his crack vocal…CD Review
- International Record ReviewLauridsen: Nocturnes'This is a spectacular cycle, graced by some sensational singing'CD Review
- Classical Source.comLauridsen: Nocturnes' … It is no surprise to learn of the composer’s devotion to music of both the Medieval and Renaissance…CD Review
- CNN NewsLauridsen: Nocturnes'You know something's up when two of the highest-profile and most honored American composers of serious…CD Review
- Classical.netLauridsen: Nocturnes'Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) is at present considered to be the brightest star in the American choral…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionLauridsen: Nocturnes'...a disc that is filled with lovely music. Performances are excellent. Anyone who is interested in the best…CD Review
- HMV ChoiceLauridsen: Nocturnes'This recording is a fine example of Polyphony's exquisite range and Stephen Layton's skill in maintaining…CD Review
- Choir and OrganLauridsen: Nocturnes'Lauridsen's Mid-Winter Hymns unfolds as an astutely constructed choral symphony, with bouncy asymmetrical…CD Review
- The Manchester Evening NewsLauridsen: Nocturnes'There could be few choirs better equipped than Polyphony to bring his music to life, with their pure sound…CD Review
- The Daily ExpressLauridsen: Nocturnes'This is celestial and spine-tingling stuff. Contemporary choral music really doesn't come any better than…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphLauridsen: NocturnesIt is two years since Hyperion introduced the music of Morten Lauridsen to a wider audience and earned a…CD Review
- Fanfare USALauridsen: Nocturnes'Stephen Layton's splendiferous disc - the second of Lauridsen's music by these performers - should be on the…CD Review
- The Seattle TimesLauridsen: NocturnesThe Northwest-born composer Morten Lauridsen, renowned for his choral music, is the subject of this sumptuous…CD Review
- The Sunday TimesBruckner: Mass in E minor & MotetsCD Review
- Classic FM MagazineLauridsen: Nocturnes'This second, secular anthology is, if anything finer than its predecessor, elevated by the heavenly work of…CD Review
- Stereophile USALauridsen: Nocturnes'I hold these truths to be self-evident: 1) Rainer Maria Rilke was a genius. 2) Morten Lauridsen is a genius…CD Review
- Slate Magazine USALauridsen: Nocturnes'Nocturnes creates a complex and strange beauty that doesn't sound like any other composer. Yet for all its…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalLauridsen: Nocturnes'This is a superb issue, with the engineers capturing the full sonority of the choir, orchestra and soloists…CD Review
2006
- The Eastern Daily PressAldeburgh Festival: PolyphonyThis world-renowned festival (happily on our doorstep) entered its second week with two exciting and…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineVillette: Choral Music'The Holst Singers create great clouds of texture, which surge, form, and melt before your ears … For a bag…CD Review
- Choir and OrganVillette: Choral Music'Whether chant-inspired, leaning towards a jazz idiom or chromaticism, the music is an unusual hybrid. The…CD Review
- International Record ReviewVillette: Choral Music'This is simply gorgeous music which has not so much moments of sublime beauty as virtually no passages which…CD Review
- Fanfare USAVillette: Choral Music'The Holst Singers’ blend, diction, intonation, and ensemble are uniformly up there with the best, as is the…CD Review
- American Record GuideVillette: Choral MusicThe Holst Singers - Stephen Layton's 'other' great choir - is every bit as skilled, sonorous and sensitive as…CD Review
- Choral Guide USAVillette: Choral Music'This recording offers the most comprehensive compilation of Villette’s choral music in print. Layton’s…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineVillette: Choral MusicVillette: Choral Music - Classic FM Magazine 'Shades of Messiaen, Duruflé, Gregorian chant and jazz tinge…CD Review
- Opera News, New YorkWhitacre: Cloudburst'Theirs [Polyphony] is the sort of virtuosity that calls no attention to itself but unfolds the music with a…CD Review
- CNN NewsWhitacre: Cloudburst'This one is in the We Told You So Department. American composer Eric Whitacre in his mid-30s, is – with the…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineWhitacre: CloudburstCD Review
- BBC Music MagazineWhitacre: CloudburstCD Review
- Gramophone MagazineWhitacre: Cloudburst'This beautifully performed and recorded CD contains the bulk of Whitacre's choral canon and displays his…CD Review
- International Record ReviewWhitacre: Cloudburst'I would certainly urge anyone with a love of choral singing to buy this disc, not merely to sample this…CD Review
- Cathedral MusicWhitacre: Cloudburst'This is one of the most exciting discs to come onto the market... The whole experience is simply stunning…CD Review
- ClassicsTodayFrance.comWhitacre: Cloudburst'Il y a des disques dont on n'attend rien et qui nous donnent tous! Eric Whitacre se spécialise dans la…CD Review
- The TimesWhitacre: CloudburstCD Review
- The Rochester City NewsWhitacre: CloudburstFor months I've been driving around entranced, listening to Cloudburst, a stunning CD from British choral…CD Review
- Encore USAWhitacre: CloudburstA lifetime of listening to choral music had not prepared me for such lush harmonies—a cappella voices…CD Review
- BBC Radio 3Whitacre: CloudburstRight. Stop making the coffee: leave the washing for two minutes, muzzle your children, pull over to the side…CD Review
- The Chicago TribuneWhitacre: CloudburstComposer Eric Whitacre's new Hyperion release marks a most enjoyable collection of his works for (mostly)…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalWhitacre: CloudburstLast year Stephen Layton and Polyphony gave us a very fine CD devoted to the music of the American composer…CD Review
- ClassicsToday.comWhitacre: CloudburstYou hear about huge advance orders for the latest CD by the biggest, hottest pop superstar, or for the most…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineVillette: Choral Music'Shades of Messiaen, Duruflé, Gregorian chant and jazz tinge Villette's elegant, unpretentious motets…CD Review
- Cathedral MusicVillette: Choral Music'If I was going to choose a record company to commit Villette's music to disc, then Hyperion would be my…CD Review
- The Independent on SundayWhitacre: Cloudburst'Ethereal and chillingly beautiful choral works - an intense and moving aural experience'CD Review
- Fanfare USAWhitacre: Cloudburst'Whitacre has experienced enormous success recently, writing choral and wind ensemble music. It's not hard to…CD Review
- The Daily ExpressWhitacre: Cloudburst'Whitacre creates magical compositions that are stunning in their power. A beautiful album'CD Review
- Early Music ReviewHandel: MessiahThe conclusion of the St John’s, Smith Square Festival was the annual sell-out Messiah given by the…Concert Review
2005
- The IndependentBach: St John PassionThe choral director Stephen Layton's Good Friday performances with his chamber choir Polyphony, of Bach's St…Concert Review
- Early Music TodayHandel: MessiahConcert Review
- The IndependentSpitalfields Christmas FestivalThis Spitalfields Winter Festival concert paid homage to an established Christmas institution: the Christmas…Concert Review
- The Philadelphia InquirerHandel: MessiahStrong 'Messiah' conductor carries the night The season for Messiah envy – the ever-green variety – is upon…Concert Review
- Choir and OrganMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the CrossThe two premiere recordings on this disc are the Te Deum and On the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. The…CD Review
- The St Louis PostLauridsen: Lux aeterna"Lux aeterna" illuminates hope with choral music In the course of my work, I receive compact discs by the…CD Review
- The IndependentMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross'James MacMillan's work is informed by his Catholic faith, but rarely has he communicated his spiritual…CD Review
- Music WeekMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the CrossIn an ideal world, Hyperion's August disc of the month would sell by the truckload. The sheer quality of…CD Review
- American Record GuideMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross'If you've heard them and followed the laudatory press they've gotten worldwide, you already know that this…CD Review
- The TimesMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross'MacMillan has a tremendous gift for making the simple resonate; the 2001 Te Deum, a first recording, shows…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the CrossBest buy (opera/vocal) September 2005 In the decade since Stephen Layton’s Polyphony made the premiere…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross'an intense, deeply felt interpretation, full of beautiful and affecting singing, with all the elements -…CD Review
- The Birmingham PostMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross'This stunning work, brilliantly performed by Stephen Layton's chamber choir Polyphony and the Britten…CD Review
- Chicago TribuneTavener: The Veil of the TempleYou've never heard anything quite like Sir John Tavener's "The Veil of the Temple." The work originated as an…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineLauridsen: Lux aeternaCD Review
- Classics Today.comLauridsen: Lux aeternaIt would be difficult today to be a choral singer and not be familiar with at least one or two works by…CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineLauridsen: Lux aeterna'Stephen Layton's feel for the inner line and structure melts the heart, as does the impeccable, unforced…CD Review
- International Record ReviewLauridsen: Lux aeternaConventional choral wisdom suggests that the American Morten Lauridsen is a one-work wonder and certainly O…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphLauridsen: Lux aeterna'The music has freshness and an affecting emotional pull to it that explains its popularity with singers and…CD Review
- Music WeekLauridsen: Lux aeterna'Above all, these performances by Stephen Layton's Polyphony are breathtakingly beautiful, powerfully…CD Review
- The ScotsmanLauridsen: Lux aeterna'Every one of the works on this mesmerising Hyperion release is deliciously lyrical and harmonically…CD Review
- The ObserverLauridsen: Lux aeterna'exquisitely sung by Polyphony with strong support from the Britten Sinfonia under Stephen Layton'CD Review
- The Manchester Evening NewsLauridsen: Lux aeternaHe's the thinking choristers' John Rutter, highly regarded in the USA and noted for bringing the multi-voice…CD Review
- Opera MagazineLauridsen: Lux aeternaThe choral work of Polyphony, under the direction of Stephen Layton, is solid and inspiring throughout the…CD Review
- Fanfare USALauridsen: Lux aeternaI had seen the name of Morten Lauridsen with growing frequency over the past few years; he seemed to be…CD Review
- The Daily ExpressLauridsen: Lux aeternaWritten in 1997, US composer Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna was immediately hailed as a classic when it was…CD Review
- American Record GuideLauridsen: Lux aeterna'Layton and company have here produced the finest I've heard among several excellent collections of…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalTavener: The Veil of the TempleThe Veil of the Temple is a huge conception. The full version plays for 480 minutes, according to the Chester…CD Review
- The Philadelphia InquirerTavener: The Veil of the TempleLike most John Tavener works, this one presents itself with an immense sense of spiritual self-importance…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineTavener: The Veil of the TempleCD Review
- BBC Radio 3Lauridsen: Lux aeternaWestminster Cathedral? Broadway? Estonia even? In fact it’s the shamelessly ecstatic writing of the American…CD Review
- Audiophile AuditionTavener: The Veil of the TempleTavener's The Veil of the Temple is massive in scale and influence; the sheer number of singers (more than…CD Review
- The Independent on SundayVarious: O magnum misteriumA sequence of modern music to ancient texts – linked by austere insertions of Sarum plainchant – that surveys…CD Review
- Organists ReviewVarious: O magnum misteriumThe choir conveys Warlock’s genius quite irresistibly. These are superlative performances, beautifully…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the CrossThis splendid new performance from Polyphony also conveys dignity, and a sense (hard to explain) that the…CD Review
- International Record ReviewMacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross'… the qualities which have made Polyphony one of the finest choirs around at the moment are very much in…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineTavener: The Veil of the TempleCD Review
- The Seattle TimesLauridsen: Lux aeternaOne of today's most performed choral composers, Northwest native Morten Lauridsen has won legions of…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalLauridsen: Lux aeternaIn April 2002 I wrote the following about a Rubeda Canis Musica Release RCM 19705: "This disc is my choral…CD Review
- Stereophile USALauridsen: Lux aeterna'The sound is very clean, very focused and detailed, and has remarkable sound-stage depth. Even more so as an…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineLauridsen: Lux aeternaThere is some outstanding choral singing here, particularly in the six Madrigali. These are vocally…CD Review
- HMVLauridsen: Lux aeternaThis new disc from the multi-award-winning choir Polyphony is something rather special. At once genuinely…CD Review
- BBC Radio 3MacMillan: Seven Last Words from the CrossIf you want contemporary choral music that will challenge you rather than just relax you, then you might want…CD Review
2004
- The Daily TelegraphTavener: The Veil of the Temple - BBC PromsSunday and Monday night's Proms featured two composers who are leading lights of the vogue for meditative…Concert Review
- The New York TimesTavener: The Veil of the Temple - USANo one can accuse the Lincoln Center Festival of timidity after its presentation this weekend of the British…Concert Review
- Early Music ReviewHandel: MessiahOne of the most popular of London's annual Christmas concerts is the Stephen Layton/Polyphony Messiah at…Concert Review
- Classical Source.comHandel: MessiahThis performance of Messiah, the closing concert of this year's "Christmas Festival" at St John's, was a…Concert Review
- The IndependentPolyphony: Barbican Great Performers Series John Tavener 60th Birthday ConcertIn the Barbican's generously programmed 60th birthday celebration of Sir John Tavener, most of the featured…Concert Review
- The TimesPolyphony: Barbican Great Performers Series John Tavener 60th Birthday ConcertJOHN TAVENER’s music is an uneasy pact between time and eternity. Compelled to exist in time, it strains and…Concert Review
- Classics Today.comA Christmas Present from PolyphonyThis Christmas collection from the esteemed vocal ensemble Polyphony is a compilation from several of the…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineA Christmas Present from Polyphony'Stephen Layton directs the performances and deserves major credit for the very high standards evident on…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphA Christmas Present from Polyphony'This is a disc for listening to in peace, after the Christmas Day festivites are over and the visitors have…CD Review
- Choir and OrganTavener: Choral Music'Stephen Layton's heartfelt commitment to the composer's music brings forth shimmering performances from his…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineTavener: Choral MusicCD Review
- Classic FM MagazineTavener: Choral Music'The power of Tavener at his best is fully unlocked by Polyphony and Stephen Layton, whose sensitivity to the…CD Review
- The Financial TimesTavener: Choral MusicPeace, calm, the eternal, the spiritual: Tavener’s music offers balm to listeners harried by the pressures of…CD Review
- International Record ReviewTavener: Choral Music'for the Tavener devotee, among whose number I include myself, this disc is an essential survey of the…CD Review
- Music WeekTavener: Choral Music'performed with conviction by Stephen Layton's Polyphony. His professional choir manages to convey the…CD Review
- Fanfare USATavener: Choral MusicPolyphony's singing is immaculate, captured in the resonant acoustic of the Temple Church in glorious…CD Review
- The TimesTallis and Pärt: Holst SingersQuite a happening on Saturday night in the hallowed sanctum of the Inner Temple in London. A deep silence in…Concert Review
- Gramophone MagazineHolst: This have I done for my true loveFor an object lesson in economy of means look no further than the magical setting of ""Terly Terlow""…CD Review
- CD Review UKHolst: This have I done for my true loveFascinating… The Holst Singers cover themselves in distinction. A gem.CD Review
- The Evening StandardBach: St John PassionConcert Review
- MetroBach: St John PassionOpera and Lent oppose each other. Opera is frivolous, extravagant, indulgent, irreverent; Lent is austere…Concert Review
- The TimesMacMillan and Lauridsen: PolyphonyLight and darkness met head on under the fan vaulting, when the Britten Sinfonia and Stephen Layton’s fine…Concert Review
- The Daily TelegraphSchnittke: Holst SingersSublime echoes through a soaring space It was a programme of vaulting ambition from the Holst Singers: five…Concert Review
- The Evening StandardBirthday Concert for Sir John Tavener: Holst Singers and Temple ChoirTavener’s timeless treasures touch the ethereal Like most churches, only more so, the Temple Church is…Concert Review
- Early Music ReviewHandel: MessiahConcert Review
- BBC Radio 3Tavener: Choral MusicAnd finally to my favourite batch of this week's choral releases. Stephen Layton, and his choral group…CD Review
- HMVTavener: The John Tavener CollectionUntil 1997, John Tavener was effectively a cult composer. He shot to international prominence when his Song…CD Review
- The GuardianTavener: Choral MusicStephen Layton's superb choir, Polyphony, does wonders in bringing variety to a sequence of John Tavener's…CD Review
- Klassik HeutePärt: TriodionNeues von Arvo Pärt, dem aus Estland stammenden, jetzt 68jährigen Repräsentanten einer kreativ auf…CD Review
- Fanfare USARutter: Music for Christmas'Lovingly rendered by Polyphony under Stephen Layton, this should be a disc of choice not only for this year…CD Review
- International Record ReviewRutter: Music for ChristmasSuperb performances which are beautifully recordedCD Review
2003
- The Irish TimesIrish Chamber Choir: LamentationsNCC immediately responsive to Stephen Layton’s command of detail and dramatic design Stephen Layton is one of…Concert Review
- Classic FM MagazinePärt: TriodionIf one word could stand for Arvo Part’s recent choral output, it would surely be inclusivity, not just…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazinePärt: TriodionMore than any other composer alive today Arvo Pärt has given us back the idea of eloquent beautiful…CD Review
- Choir and OrganPärt: TriodionI had never been to Venice before this summer, and the relentless beauty of the place overwhelmed me. This…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphPärt: TriodionThis collection, a sequel to Polyphony’s all-Pärt CD for Hyperion, brings together choral music composed from…CD Review
- bbc.co.ukPärt: TriodionThere’s a quiet and cumulative power to these works, given performances of luminous purity by Polyphony and…CD Review
- The Sunday TimesPärt: TriodionPolyphony’s earlier album devoted to the a cappella choral music of the Estonian cult composer featured…CD Review
- The Church TimesTavener: The Veil of the Temple - World PremièreWorth staying up for The Temple Church is a fine 13th-century building: soundly designed, and vested in the…Concert Review
- The TimesTavener: The Veil of the Temple - World PremièreTavener's musical pilgrimage had run for seven hours,yet from first to last it was mesmerising Once in a…Concert Review
- The IndependentTavener: The Veil of the Temple - World PremièreThis is John Tavener's magnum opus. At seven hours' duration, lasting from dusk to dawn, The Veil of the…Concert Review
- The TabletTavener: The Veil of the Temple - World PremièreDawn breaks over the Temple Sir John Tavener’s latest work brings together East and West in a highly…Concert Review
- The Los Angeles TimesTavener: The Veil of the Temple - World PremièreAll-night journey traverses the soul John Tavener's seven-hour "Veil of the Temple" unfolds in cycles, with…Concert Review
- The IndependentBach: St John PassionSt John's, Smith Square, saw Stephen Layton and Polyphony offer their London version of the piece, on Good…Concert Review
- The Daily TelegraphTavener: The Veil of the Temple - World PremièreLong night's journey into elation For John Tavener, music isn't just about music. It's a way of stilling the…Concert Review
- International Record ReviewPärt: TriodionI anticipate a considerable success for this disc. It brings together eight quite recent works by Pärt, and…CD Review
- The Financial TimesPärt: TriodionTriodion is the longest of eight works on this disc, and comprises three odes leading to a simple coda…CD Review
- Music WeekPärt: TriodionWith six world premiere recordings to its credit, this disc would immediately attract attention even if the…CD Review
2002
- Classic FM MagazineWalton: Coronation Te DeumEvery generation delivers an outstanding talent with the vision and commitment necessary to produce…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineWalton: Coronation Te DeumPerformance Sounds This collection of Walton's smaller choral works includes the four carols omitted from the…CD Review
- ABC Classic FM MagazineWalton: Coronation Te DeumWilliam Walton made his reputation in the first instance with his film scores, of which he wrote very many…CD Review
- HMVWalton: Coronation Te DeumThis disc is a tribute to two anniversaries – the centenary of English composer William Walton's birth and…CD Review
- HMV ChoiceWalton: Coronation Te DeumWhen it came to pomp and circumstance, Oldham's William Walton was a kind of Elgar with attitude, perfectly…CD Review
- The Sunday TelegraphWalton: Coronation Te DeumWhat a splendid work it is, especially when sung with the verve brought to it by Stephen Layton’s choir…CD Review
- Organists ReviewWalton: Coronation Te Deum'From fanfare to finale this is a very fine and fitting centenary compilation indeed'CD Review
- The ObserverWalton: Coronation Te Deum'a wonderfully refreshing interpretation'CD Review
- The ScotsmanBach: St John PassionReal Passion on display Bach's St John Passion is often considered to be the poor relation of the later and…Concert Review
- The Daily TelegraphBach: St John PassionAPTLY contemplative for Good Friday, this performance of Bach's St John Passion had a similar cast of singers…Concert Review
- Music Web InternationalBach: St John PassionThis production is typical of the styles of both the ENO and the director, Deborah Warner, in that it…Concert Review
- The TimesBach: St John PassionDeborah Warner's work in the lyric theatre divides audiences like that of no other director. She has provoked…Concert Review
- The OrganBach: St John PassionThe revival of Deborah Warner’s English National Opera production of J S Bach’s St John Passion on 15 March…Concert Review
- Classical MusicSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangThose who know Schnittke as a master of the grotesque, the trashy or the avant garde would be as surprised to…CD Review
- The Evening StandardSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangAlthough technically the Holst Singers are amateurs, it would be wrong to think they were in any way second…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangA superb and revealing performance of one of Schnittke’s most approachable works The rather anodyne name…CD Review
- BBC NewsSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangThe death of Alfred Schnittke in 1998 robbed the world of one of its most distinctive symphonists. But as…CD Review
- Rough GuideSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangIf in some of his choral music Schnittke sounds a little ‘unlike himself’, this disc reveals a less…CD Review
- Amazon.co.ukSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangIf the idea of an unaccompanied choral work, sung in Russian, lasting more than 40 minutes sounds like hard…CD Review
- International Record ReviewSchnittke: Choir Concerto & Minnesang'if the concerto does not ultimately go down as one of the masterpieces of the late twentieth century choral…CD Review
- The Irish TimesSchnittke: Choir Concerto & Minnesang'the music, direct in manner and imposing in effect, should appeal to anyone who already loves the sacred…CD Review
- The ObserverSchnittke: Choir Concerto & Minnesang'high vocal standards … A fine introduction to some rare and satisfying repertoire'CD Review
- Classics TodaySchnittke: Choir Concerto & Minnesang'Stephen Layton’s Holst Singers really show their mettle … Schnittke fans will want to hear this; and anyone…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalSchnittke: Choir Concerto & Minnesang'The Holst Singers have done an excellent job … They have a beautiful, cool sound in the best British…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangPerformance Sounds No longer need Alfred Schnittke's daunting and often overwhelming Choir Concerto be seen…CD Review
- Music WeekSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangSchnittke: Choir Concerto; Minnesang; Voices of Nature. Holst Singers/Layton (Hyperion CDA67297). Stephen…CD Review
- The TimesSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangNone of the music ... gets the spine tingling as much as the Schnittke choral music sung by the Holst…CD Review
- The GuardianSchnittke: Choir Concerto & MinnesangFrom its very opening the Choir Concerto proclaims its affiliations to the Russian choral tradition…CD Review
- Music WeekWalton: Coronation Te DeumGramophone Award-winning choir Polyphony and their inspired conductor Stephen Layton appear set for further…CD Review
- Cathedral MusicWalton: Coronation Te Deum'A great collection and an absolute winner'CD Review
- Classica Répertoire FranceWalton: Coronation Te Deum'On trouve chez Layton, avec des chœurs d’une beauté et d’une précision étonnantes, un surcroît de chaleur et…CD Review
- American Record GuideWalton: Coronation Te Deum'This sterling collection should win Walton’s choral music many new fans'CD Review
2001
- Time OutHandel: MessiahPolyphony met the Age of Enlightenment; they said “Handel’s oratorio ?”, the others said “Stephen Layton…Concert Review
- Diapason FranceRutter: Music for Christmas'Les arrangements sont ingénieux’CD Review
- The ScotsmanRutter: Music for ChristmasWhen the chirpy Shepherd’s Pipe Carol, the instantly singable Star Carol, or the literal sound effects of the…CD Review
- HMV ChoiceRutter: Music for Christmas'Polyphony beautifully continue the English tradition with joyful refinement'CD Review
- The Evening StandardRutter: Music for Christmas'[Rutter] could not have asked for better performers'CD Review
- American Record GuideRutter: Music for Christmas'A treat for all Rutter fans! … the program is bound to satisfy anyone seeking a balanced program of…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineVarious: Christmas through the ages - Six of the bestIf audience participation muddies the join-in carols in the King’s disc, here’s something cool, poised and…CD Review
- Amazon.co.ukRutter: Music for ChristmasIn an introduction to this disc of Christmas music, John Rutter tellingly commends the Christmas carol as one…CD Review
- Classics TodayRutter: Music for Christmas"The performances are uniformly excellent; Stephen Layton and his Polyphony vocal ensemble have shown a…CD Review
- The Mail on SundayRutter: Music for Christmas'It’s hard to imagine them better performed than by the award-winning British choir Polyphony'CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineRutter: Music for Christmas'The performances by both choir and orchestra are ideal in tone, style and accomplishment … A Christmas treat'CD Review
- The Sydney Morning HeraldMozart: Requiem - Australian Chamber OrchestraSublime music and a Requiem performance to die for “Less is more”, a phrase coined by Bauhaus architect Mies…Concert Review
- International Record ReviewRutter: GloriaThis ample anthology, poignantly dedicated to the memory of the composer's son, opens with a triumphantly…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineRutter: GloriaPerformance: Sound: John Rutter's output of sacred choral works is immense, and these vibrant performances…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineRutter: GloriaThis superb disc contains a balanced cross-section of John Rutter's sacred choral music, spanning over a…CD Review
- Amazon.co.ukRutter: GloriaAs demonstrated on Rutter-Gloria and other Sacred Music, John Rutter is what happens when you mix some Fauré…CD Review
- The Daily TelegraphBach: St John PassionThe Good Friday performance of Bach's St John Passion at St John's, Smith Square, was distinguished by the…Concert Review
- The ObserverBach: St John PassionSt John v St Matthew The stern clarity of Bach's St John Passion makes it as compelling as any straight…Concert Review
- The Financial TimesPärt: PassioPassions abound at Easter - chiefly, but not exclusively, Bach's, after the gospel accounts. On Sunday I…Concert Review
- The TimesPärt: PassioSt John's is the most direct of the Passions, some would say the most tendentious: a couple of years ago…Concert Review
- American Record GuideBritten: Sacred and ProfaneThis collection of some of Britten’s a cappella choral music is wide-ranging – from the Hymn to the Virgin…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineBritten: Sacred and ProfaneAMDG presents as formidable a challenge to its singers as any of Britten's compositions for unaccompanied…CD Review
- Diapason FranceBritten: Sacred and ProfaneAprès un formidable récital Cornelius (chez le même éditeur), Stephen Layton revient en Angleterre pour fêter…CD Review
- The Evening StandardBritten: Sacred and ProfaneAfter hearing their latest CD of choral works by Britten, nothing will dissuade me from the conclusion that…CD Review
- Music Web InternationalBritten: Sacred and ProfaneA crack choir who sing with immaculate intonation and a sure sense of internal balance … I was left wishing…CD Review
- The Age, MelbourneBritten: Sacred and ProfanePolyphony’s exceptional energy, technical prowess and expressive flexibility make the most of every word and…CD Review
- Cathedral MusicBritten: Sacred and ProfaneA valued possession … highly recommendedCD Review
- Fanfare USASchumann: The Complete Songs, Vol. 5This disc by itself is enough to establish [Maltman] as one of the genre’s most important recent exponents…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineSchumann: The Complete Songs, Vol. 5With this superbly executed recital, Maltman leaps in a single bound into the front rank of Lieder…CD Review
- International Record ReviewSchumann: The Complete Songs, Vol. 5This is a treasurable issue – generous in quality and quantity alike. As with the Hyperion Schubert Song…CD Review
- AmazonSchumann: The Complete Songs, Vol. 5There are so many delights to be found here, and the combination of a beautiful voice, Johnson’s superbly…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineBritten: Sacred and ProfanePerformance Sounds Polyphony’s brand of singing, clean as a whistle, rhythmically wonderfully alive…CD Review
- International Record ReviewBritten: Sacred and ProfaneAlmost the only criticism I have of this superb programme is that in Sacred and Profane, Britten's late group…CD Review
- Amazon.co.ukBritten: Sacred and ProfaneThis disc containing the major part of Britten's mixed-voice a cappella repertoire (the Hymn to St Cecilia is…CD Review
- Fanfare USAVarious: Christmas through the Ages'Other than to assure you that it works for me, need I say more?'CD Review
- Classic FM MagazineRutter: Music for ChristmasThose of you who have ever sung in a choir, particularly around Christmas time, will be familiar with John…CD Review
2000
- The Mail on SundayHandel: Messiah...recent years have seen attempts to escape from the Victorian massed-choir approach: to recapture its…Concert Review
- The Independent on SundayHandel: MessiahSt John's Smith Square seemed an unlikely setting for anything but the most genteel of performances but…Concert Review
- The Independent on SundayHandel: MessiahHandel: Messiah - The Independent on Sunday St John's Smith Square seemed an unlikely setting for anything…Concert Review
- Gramophone MagazineCornelius: The Three KingsAn appealing collection of choral works from the composer of the celebrated carol, Three Kings from Persian…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineCornelius: The Three KingsThese are superior performances, Layton’s group Polyphony offering refined tone and exceptional precision…CD Review
- Classics TodayCornelius: The Three KingsThis program offers an exciting trip into what for most listeners will be a world of happy discovery.CD Review
- The GuardianCornelius: The Three KingsPolyphony sing with solemn beauty. The sound is sumptuous and richly atmospheric.CD Review
- American Record GuideCornelius: The Three KingsEnthusiastically recommended.CD Review
- The TimesSchumann: The Complete Songs, Vol. 4Three unaccompanied choral settings are most sensitively sung by Stephen Layton’s London Schubert Chorale…CD Review
- The Sunday TimesSchumann: The Complete Songs, Vol. 4At a time when the multinational labels fill their booklets with gushing hype about the artists, Hyperion's…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineSchumann: The Complete Songs, Vol. 4At a time when the multinational labels fill their booklets with gushing hype about the artists, Hyperion's…CD Review
- Time EuropeBach: St John Passion with ENOThe English National Opera brings Bach to vivid dramatic life Against a pale yellow background the chorus…Concert Review
- OperaBach: St John Passion with ENOSeeing the light It may not be what Bach intended, but ENO's St John Passion is a unique event. The live lamb…Concert Review
- The GuardianBach: St John Passion with ENOJust three elements make the new show worth catching: an intensely moving portrayal by Mark Padmore as the…Concert Review
- The TimesBach: St John Passion with ENOWhat is truth? THE big question, as posed by Richard Morrison earlier in the week, is if those in the…Concert Review
- The IndependentBach: St John Passion with ENOJesus Christ Opera Star Concerts of Bach’s St John Passion are familiar Eastertide events. Now the…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineSchubert: The Hyperion Schubert Edition, Vol. 35Throughout the disc, Graham Johnson's accompaniments are typically illuminating with numerous touches of…CD Review
- JyllandspostenPolyphony: DenmarkThroughout this year and through 10 concerts and lectures and a most readworthy book, the unique project Er…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineSchubert: The Hyperion Schubert Edition, Vol. 34This disc is a must for any serious Schubert collector, its pleasures enhanced by Graham Johnson's observant…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineSchubert: The Hyperion Schubert Edition, Vol. 34A feast of finely wrought, intelligent interpretations… the readings make an indelible impression.CD Review
1999
- Classic CDGrechaninov: VespersStephen Layton’s Holst Singers treat the piece (legimately) as a concert work and bring to bear a light…CD Review
- The GuardianGrechaninov: VespersThree years before Rachmaninov wrote his Vespers, Gretchaninov, in 1912, wrote this mellifluous setting of…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineGrechaninov: VespersIt is an expertly disciplined ensemble, and technically its musicianship is impeccable. Claire WrathallCD Review
- Choir and OrganGrechaninov: VespersNumerous delights. The performance by the Holst Singers is stunningly good. This serene, delectable music is…CD Review
- The ScotsmanGrechaninov: VespersGreat blocks of beautifully contructed sound are stunning in their apparent simplicity.CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineGrechaninov: VespersGrechaninov's music has, in recent years, begun once more to be performed and recorded as it deserves. There…CD Review
1998
- Gramophone MagazinePärt: Berliner MassArvo Part's music is about equilibrium and balance ‚ balance between consonance and dissonance, between…CD Review
- Choir and OrganPärt: Berliner MassFar from being inaccessible, Arvo Pärt's music is mesmerising, and this collection immerses the listener into…CD Review
- American Record GuidePärt: Berliner MassFar from being inaccessible, Arvo Pärt's music is mesmerising, and this collection immerses the listener into…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazinePärt: Berliner MassPärt’s music remains an object of unstinting wonderCD Review
- Organists ReviewPärt: Berliner MassCommitted and definitive performances of this intense music.CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineRutter: RequiemIt seems perverse, in a necessarily brief review, to make a mystery or a penance where essentially all is…CD Review
1997
- CD Review UKRutter: RequiemCOMPOSER John Rutter made a great impression on a Torquay audience, when he came to speak to Torbay Recorded…CD Review
- BBC Music MagazineRutter: RequiemFew John Rutter fans will be without a copy of the composer's own Collegium recording of his Requiem. But…CD Review
- The SingerRutter: RequiemHyperion have done John Rutter proud with this disc, and he them. The Requiem, for all its acknowledged…CD Review
- The Inverness CourierRutter: RequiemThe highland audience was introduced to the music of Britain’s foremost contemporary composer of choral music…CD Review
- The Yorkshire PostRutter: RequiemJohn Rutter's written introduction to this disc includes a curiously petulant defence of his craft. He…CD Review
- Amazon.co.ukRutter: Requiem'Sensitive, beautifully blended singing and playing. First class'CD Review
- The TimesRutter: RequiemThe music of the contemporary English composer John Rutter has gained a measure of popularity, and this disc…CD Review
- Soundscape AustraliaVarious: Ikon, Vol. 1The timbral and textural palette of Russian choral sound is clearly evident to Layton and the ensemble with…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineVarious: Ikon, Vol. 1The most interesting discovery to be made on this anthology is Sviridov's choral music, both sacred (though…CD Review
- Fanfare USAVarious: Ikon, Vol. 1Uniformly charismatic performances. Fine engineering and notes too. Highly recommended.CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineRutter: RequiemRutter Requiems King's College Choir, Cambridge / Cleobury Cambridge Singers / Rutter Polyphony / Layton…CD Review
1996
- The TimesVarious: A Capella Christmas ConcertTake a couple of dozen choice 20th-century Christmas carols, group them imaginatively add a dash of…Concert Review
- The Sunday TimesHahn: SongsThis gorgeous set … IrresistableCD Review
- The Sunday TelegraphHahn: SongsWhat treasures are here … The two discs provide an unmissable opportunity to explore a composer who is…CD Review
- Diapason FranceHahn: SongsGraham Johnson choisir ses chanteurs qui possèdent une musicalité irréprochable et un français non seulement…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineHahn: SongsSome fascinating rarities.CD Review
- Fanfare USAGrainger: Jungle BookWhen I was going through a conventionally turbulent adolescence in the peaceful New York suburb of White…CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineGrainger: Jungle BookHere now is the second disc in recent months to bring us face to face with Grainger. His music (or such music…CD Review
- The Age, MelbourneGrainger: Jungle Book"The worth of my music will never be guessed or its value to mankind felt, until the approach to it is…CD Review
- The Chicago TribuneGrainger: Jungle BookCollections of the music of Percy Grainger usually emphasize its energy and spriteliness. Not this one…CD Review
- Diapason FranceGrainger: Jungle BookAprés la belle anthologie de Gardiner (Philips), ce superbe album vient confirmer l’extraordinaire intuition…CD Review
- Fono Forum, GermanyGrainger: Jungle BookHierzulande ist der amerikanische Musen-Allrounder Percy Grainger (1882-1961) bestenfalls als exzentrischer…CD Review
- Soundscapes AustraliaGrainger: Jungle Book'A capella singing at its very finest'CD Review
- Classica Répertoire FranceGrainger: Jungle BookLe vaste cycle Jungle Book occupa Grainger pendant rien moins que cinquante-neuf ans ; exactement de 1898 à…CD Review
- The ObserverHahn: SongsTo wonderful songs … [the artists] bring delicacy, grace, an emotion the more poignant for being understated…CD Review
1995
- The TimesVarious: Polyphony Christmas ConcertTen ways to sing 'Hail Mary' There can be fewer nicer ways to spend Christmas than in the company of…Concert Review
- CD Compact, SpainBritten: Christ's NativityInterpretaciones tan refrescantes como escrupulosasCD Review
- Diapason, FranceBritten: Christ's NativityRemarquable! Les Holst Singers se révèlent être de remarquables interprètes de leur cher répertoire national…CD Review
- Organists ReviewBritten: Christ's NativityTheir commitment to what they are singing rings out with every note. A Boy was Born is imbued with more…CD Review
- Fanfare USAVaughan Williams: Over hill, over daleA most worthwhile enterprise, strongly recommendedCD Review
- CD Compact, SpainVaughan Williams: Over hill, over daleEn todo momento, los cantores de Layton demuenstran un dominio total y lenguaje musical de Vaughan Williams ……CD Review
- Classica Répertoire FranceVaughan Williams: Over hill, over daleUne réussite artistique exemplaireCD Review
- BBC Music MagazineVaughan Williams: Over hill, over daleThis new Vaughan Williams collection complements the Holst Singers’ critically acclaimed 1993 CD of Holst…CD Review
- The Musical TimesGrainger and Grieg: At Twilight'This scalp-prickling, sometimes spine-chilling, disc should not be missed'CD Review
- Choir and OrganGrainger and Grieg: At TwilightThis is a disc which will take a long time to put back on the shelfCD Review
- BBC Music MagazineGrainger and Grieg: At Twilight'Superior performances by Layton and Polyphony'CD Review
- Gramophone MagazineBritten: Christ's NativityChrist's Nativity, earlier known as The King's Birthday, a Christmas suite in five movements, receives here…CD Review
Undated
- The Arts DeskSt John Passion at St John's Smith Square: review, The Arts DeskSt John Passion, Polyphony, OAE, Layton, St John's Smith Square review - defiant performance reveals Bach…Concert Review
- The GuardianSt John Passion at St John's Smith Square: 5 star review, The GuardianSt John Passion review – Polyphony and OAE deliver an outstanding, vivid rendition. An extraordinarily moving…Concert Review
- BachtrackSt John Passion at St John's Smith Square: 5 star review, BachtrackJS Bach’s St John Passion opens with a tremendous 14-bar instrumental prelude in which its driving semiquaver…Concert Review
- Christmas Oratorio at the Barbican, London"Directed by Stephen Layton, the [Britten] Sinfonia and the dozen singers of Polyphony warmed up the chilly…Concert Review
- BBC Music MagazineBach: St John Passion"There's no doubting the choir's passion and poise, whether as a baying mob … or in the expressively balanced…CD Review
- International Record ReviewHowells: Requiem & Other Choral Works"... Trinity finds the heart of this work and gives a strong, committed reading."CD Review
- Choir and OrganEšenvalds: Passion & Resurrection"Ešenvalds displays an impressive command and variety of musical language … Soloist, choir and strings are…CD Review
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