CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Eric Whitacre: Cloudburst and Other Choral Works

by: Eric Whitacre, Polyphony, Robert Millett, Stephen Betteridge, Stephen Layton

Release Date February 14, 2006
What a gorgeous recording this is! The beauty of this music is absolutely stunning, like hearing music for the first time. It's really hard to believe that Whitacre is only 35--the degree of spirituality and depth of feeling here seems the product of a lifetime. And unlike many choral composers, he is not a one-trick pony. Every aspect of every composition is distinctive, even as it is always recognizable as his. And like Arvo Part, you get the overwhelming sense that every note is heartfelt, never calculated, though Whitacre's aesthetic is warmer and less austere than Part's ("Sunburst" would have been a more apt title for the CD). I am also reminded in some ways of the Bulgarian women's choirs: Bulgarian music is full of extreme dissonance, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Morten Lauridsen: Nocturnes

from: Hyperion UK

Release Date February 13, 2007
The audience for fine choral music hopefully is growing beyond the seasonal and occasional mighty works of Handel, Mozart, Bach. Certainly with such performing arts groups as the Los Angeles Master Chorale and England's Polyphony recording and performing choral music from the recent past and from the present the appreciation for this inspiring genre will expand. And as long as there are recordings of the caliber of this collection of works by Morten Lauridsen the possibilities are evident.

Best known for his 'instant classic' LUX AETERNA, the gift of Morten Lauridsen is well in evidence with this recording. And while there are other recordings of some of the works here included, this CD is the premiere recording of six pieces that merit ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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John Rutter: Music for Christmas

by: Polyphony, Stephen Layton, City of London Sinfonia

Release Date November 13, 2001
Excellent Christmas CD. I especially liked the "Angles Carol" track!
Would recommend this CD to one and all.

CD-Charts Position 4
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Handel: Dettingen Te Deum; Zadok the Priest; Organ Concerto No. 14

from: Hyperion UK

Release Date June 10, 2008
Excellent Christmas CD. I especially liked the "Angles Carol" track!
Would recommend this CD to one and all.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Poulenc: Gloria; Motets

from: Hyperion UK

Release Date March 11, 2008
I cannot fathom why this recording remains an import. It has already attained the status of a classic in the Poulenc discography and for audiophiles it is indispensable. When I read the ecstatic reviews in Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine several months ago I was a bit skeptical, despite my enormous respect for Stephen Layton and Polyphony. For the a cappella pieces (the Lenten and Christmas motets), no problem--you would expect Polyphony to nail the austere style and diaphanous textures. But what about the panoramic and quasi-operatic scope of the "Gloria"? That seemed a stretch. For this recording, however, Polyphony enlisted the resources of the Trinity College choir, the Britten Sinfonia, and the estimable soprano Susan Gritton. And the results, indeed, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Morten Lauridsen: Lux aeterna

by: Morten Lauridsen, Stephen Layton, Polyphony

Release Date February 08, 2005
The album Lux aeterna by Morten Lauridsen (Hyperion CDA67449) featuring the pure and delightful voices of the choir Polyphony, and the incredible instrumentation of the Britten Sinfonia with Stephen Layton bringing it all together is nothing short of astounding.

[...]

All in all this was a great find. I also purchased the album of the same title done by the Los Angeles Master Chorale with Paul Salamunovich, which is equally well done. All comments above apply to this album as well (RCM19705).

Willy

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Christmas Present From Polyphony

by: Polyphony, Stephen Layton

Release Date October 12, 2004
This is an essential Christmas choral CD. The program itself is fabulous and unique, lacking the tacky "favorites" found on most recordings of this type. Entirely a cappella except for two Rutter arrangements with orchestra. Not a single track is lacking in depth and sincerity.

Polyphony is one phenomenal choir. For its small size, it has truly unmatched sustaining power and control (demonstrated most astonishingly in Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium and the end of Howells' A Spotless Rose). The only disappointment on the entire disc is Grieg's gorgeous "Ave Maris Stella" in which, for whatever reason, the men sing with a rather unblended and even wobbly sound while the women are almost entirely straight-tone. "Sing Lullaby" by Howells is a priceless gem ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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MacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross

from: Hyperion UK

Release Date September 13, 2005
MacMillan has a wonderful inner understanding of sacred music, informed (I assume) by his Catholic faith. The Seven Last Words from the Cross are stunning, a brilliant admixture of old and new.

Track 3 (Verily, I say unto thee, thous shall be with me in Paradise) derserves a particular mention. The "ecce lignum crucis" (proclaiming darkness) is stunningly interwoven with the thrice proclaimed acclamation of "venite adoremus". Its the "venite adoremus" with its wafting neo-romantic violin solo and Brittenesque strings (reminding me very much of the famous quartet in Peter Grimes: "do we cry or do we weep" and perhaps of Brahms)that grabs you: how can this be so, how can we have crucified the "Son of Man" - the shock of it all is ironically captured more ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Mozart: Vespers K. 321 & 339/Ave Verum Corpus; King's College Choir, Cambridge; Hilliard Ensemble

by: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Stephen Cleobury, King's College Choir - Cambridge, The Hilliard Ensemble

Release Date July 18, 1989
KINGS COLLEGE SINGERS: YOU GOTTA' LOVE 'EM!!!!

Mozart wrote his first piece of church music in 1766, when he was 10 years old, and altogether he composed over 50 vocal works for ecclesiastical use. The two Vespers herein recorded date from 1779 and 1780 respectively, and were probably composed for performance in the cathedral in Salzburg. Both Vespers are scored for SATB soloists and chorus, strings, trumpets,trombones, timpani and organ. and a bassoon doubling the string basses.

The 'Vesperae de Dominca' begin with a vigorous setting in C of Psalm 110, the 4 solo voices emerging soon after it begins. The other 5 movements include words from Psalm 111, Psalm 112,Psalm 113, and Psalm 117.

The 'Vesperae solennes de confessore' ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Ikon

from: Hyperion UK

Release Date June 10, 1997
I first heard this recording of the Grechaninov Creed on the BBC and I just had to buy it and although I have played it many times I still find it stunning. I have come to love most of the disc and if you enjoy liturgical music a capella you will surely enjoy this.