JOHN RUTTER
Rutter: Requiem / Hymn To The Creator of Light / etc Polyphony / Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Feb/1998 ] "Here is music finely crafted, written with love for the art and an especial care for choral sound...their tone is unfailingly beautiful. The two soloists are excellent." Gramophone |
KARL JENKINS
Jenkins: Miserere: Songs of Mercy and Redemption Iestyn Davies (counter-tenor), Polyphony, Britten Sinfonia, Stephen Layton [ Decca / CD - released 11/Oct/2019 ] Sir Karl Jenkins is one of the most performed living composers in the world. His new choral masterpiece Miserere is dedicated to all who have suffered or perished during the conflicts in the Middle East over the last 70 years. Karl was motivated by... |
FRANCIS POULENC
Poulenc: Gloria / Quatre motets / et Susan Gritton (soprano) / Polyphony / Britten Sinfonia / Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / CD - released 25/Mar/2008 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD FINALIST 2008 - Choral - |
JOHN RUTTER
Rutter: Requiem and other choral works Polyphony / Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion 30 / CD - released 1/Sep/2010 ] GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE - 'A radiant richness of sound.' (Penguin Guide) |
JAMES MACMILLAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: MacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross / Te Deum Polyphony / Britten Sinfonia, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2005 ] MUSICWEB RECORDINGS OF THE YEAR (2005) |
TRADITIONAL
A Christmas Present from Polyphony Polyphony Stehpen Layton (conductor) with City of London Sinfonia [ Hyperion / CD - released 25/Nov/2005 ] 'Stephen Layton directs the performances and deserves major credit for the very high standards evident on this compilation' (BBC Music Magazine) |
BARBER / COPLAND / BERNSTEIN / THOMPSON
American Polyphony Polyphony, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / CD - released 25/Jul/2015 ] "This is the finest performance of Barber's Agnus Dei I've heard by any choir, live or on record…a wonderful recital, not to be missed." (BBC Music Disc of the month - August 2015) |
PERCY GRAINGER / EDVARD GRIEG
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: 'At Twilight' - Choral Music by Percy Grainger and Edvard Grieg Polyphony with David Wilson-Johnson (baritone) Paul Agnew (tenor) / Stephen Layton [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 14/Jul/2006 ] "Grainger's mastery of choral textures shines out of this wide-ranging collection of folk-song arrangements, each highly individual and memorable. Superior performances by Stephen Layton and Polyphony." Five Stars BBC Music Mag (July 2006) |
HANDEL
Messiah Allan Clayton (tenor) Julia Doyle (soprano) Andrew Foster-Williams (bass) / Polyphony & Britten Sinfonia, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 10/Nov/2009 ] 'No-one, but no-one performs Messiah better every year than the choir Polyphony under the conductor Stephen Layton' (Evening Standard) |
ARVO PART
Part: Triodion David James (countertenor) Christopher Bowers Broadbent (organ) / Polyphony / Stephen Layton [ Hyperion 30 / CD - released 1/Sep/2010 ] "The choir's pursuit of perfection ideally complements the sheer beauty of the music" Classic FM Magazine |
J. S. BACH
Bach: St John Passion [2 CD set] Ian Bostridge, Neal Davies, Carolyn Sampson, Iestyn Davies, Nicolas Mulroy / Polyphony, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/2013 ] "the choral singing is wonderfully pure, buoyant and transparent...Ian Bostridge's Evangelist, mannered and occasionally stretched but full of "narrative" character, dominates Layton's performance" Financial Times, 9th March 2013 *** |
PAWEL LUKASZEWSKI
Via Crucis Iestyn Davies (countertenor) Allan Clayton (tenor) Andrew Foster-Williams (baritone) / Britten Sinfonia / Polyphony / Stephen Layton (cond) [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Dec/2010 ] "This string of moments, by turns bright and oppressively dark, dramatic and reflective, receives a performance of the very deepest conviction by Polyphony and the Britten Sinfonia under Stephen Layton, and the recorded sound is wonderful." (Gramophone) |
PERCY GRAINGER
Jungle Book & other choral works John Mark Ainsley (tenor) & David Wilson-Johnson (baritone) / Polyphony, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 20/Feb/2011 ] "Generous timing, discoveries, Delian gauzy harmonies, tangy instrumentation, sentimentality, aureate vocal light, succinct and touching settings." (MusicWeb Bargain of the Month Jan 2011) |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
And the Sun Darkened: Music for Passiontide New York Polyphony [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 5/Mar/2021 ] An array of elegiac vocal works from across the centuries. |
BRUMEL / CRECQUILLON / JOSQUIN / CLEMENS NON PAPA
EndBeginning: Motets and Plainsong for the Dead New York Polyphony [ BIS SACD / CD - released 1/Feb/2012 ] "This superb BIS production, ideally recorded in a Swedish church, bodes well for what looks like the beginning of a beautiful relationship." (10/10 ClassicsToday March 2012) |
New York Polyphony
I sing the Birth [ CD ] |
FRANCISCO de PENALOSA
Peñalosa: Lamentationes New York Polyphony [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 6/Sep/2019 ] "It's wonderful to hear more music from Francisco de Peñalosa, and particularly pleasing that it comes on this stylish release from New York Polyphony complete with superb booklet notes by Ivan Moody" Gramophone Awards 2020 Short List - Early Music |
WILLIAM BYRD / RICHARD RODNEY BENNETT / JOHN PLUMMER / THOMAS TALLIS / etc
Times Go By Turns New York Polyphony [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 20/Sep/2013 ] "The sound on this SACD recording, from a Swedish church, is consistent with BIS's usual high standard. Recommended with the assurance that you will listen to this disc often." (10/10 ClassicsToday) |
BYRD / CORNYSH / TALLIS / SMITH / TAVERNER / etc
Tudor City New York Polyphony [ Avie / CD - released 11/Sep/2010 ] "Recorded in New York's Cathedral of St John the Divine, these are beautifully blended voices of individual distinction" (The Independent) |
PALESTRINA / VICTORIA
Roma Aeterna - Two Roman Masses New York Polyphony with Tim Keeler (countertenor) Andrew Fuchs (tenor) and Jonathan Woody (bass-baritone) [ BIS SACD / CD - released 1/Jul/2016 ] "Don't be afraid to turn up the volume on this-even without a true surround system, you'll be (most pleasantly) surrounded." (ClassicsToday 9/10 September 2016) |
MORTEN LAURIDSEN
Lux aeterna Polyphony / Britten Sinfonia / Stephen Layton (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 13/Apr/2005 ] 'It is clear that Lauridsen's score is, if nothing else, a virtuoso exploration of choral singing technique. As such he could not hope for a more assured or polished performance; or, for that matter, a more luscious recorded sound." Gramophone |
JOHN RUTTER
Christmas Music Polyphony / City of London Sinfonia / Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / CD - released 15/Oct/2001 ] "A christmas treat for fans of Rutter's choral music, perhaps best taken in small doses." - Gramophone Magazine (Dec 2001) |
JOHN RUTTER
Gloria and other sacred music Polyphony / City of London Sinfonia / Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / CD - released 10/Jun/2001 ] Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine (Aug 2001)- 'Delicious performances of Rutter's wonderfully approachable and finely crafted vocal writing. The sound, too, is outstanding. |
ARVO PART
Choral Music [Incls 'Summa' & 'Da pacem Domine'] Polyphony, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / CD - released 29/Oct/2014 ] "this one is something special. In part this is because of the choice of repertoire, which mixes the familiar and the less-often heard, and includes two first recordings, and in part it is because of the exquisite sound produced by Polyphony" Gramoph |
MORTEN LAURIDSEN
Nocturnes Polyphony / Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / CD - released 22/Jan/2007 ] This new disc by Polyphony is certainly a worthy successor to the Grammynominated Lux aeterna (CDA67449). The popular cycles Mid-Winter Songs and Les chansons des roses are joined by four premiere recordings: two early Psalm settings, and two new... |
GABRIEL JACKSON
Not no faceless Angel Polyphony / Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Dec/2010 ] "There are many striking features of this ravishing disc, beautifully and imaginatively performed by Stephen Layton and Polyphony. There are hints here and there of Monteverdi, Stravinsky, Poulenc perhaps, yet I sense Jackson's profound affinity with... |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Sacred and Profane Polyphony, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 20/Feb/2013 ] "The programme is delightful and the choir excellent… this has to be one of the strongest winners of the choral award in recent years" (Gramophone) |
BRITTEN
Sacred And Profane / Five Flower Songs Polyphony / Stephen Layton [ Hyperion / CD - released 21/Sep/2007 ] 'After hearing their latest CD of choral works by Britten, nothing will dissuade me from the conclusion that Polyphony under Stephen Layton is the best chamber choir in the country' (The Evening Standard) |
ARVO PART
Berliner Messe / Magnificat / De Profundis Polyphony / Stephen Layton (cond), with Andrew Lucas (organ) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 28/Aug/2014 ] 'Polyphony's singing is immensely cultivated; bright, clear, immaculately phrased, and gorgeously balanced' (American Record Guide) |
ERIKS ESENVALDS
Passion and Resurrection / etc Polyphony / Stephen Layton, conductor [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Mar/2011 ] 'Rarely before have I sat in a concert hall and heard a new work that sounded so fresh yet so familiar … Ešenvalds Passion and Resurrection is surely set to become a classic, a position Hyperion's forthcoming CD release of the work should... |
JOHN TAVENER
Tavener: The Second Coming and other choral works Polyphony. Stephen Layton, conductor [ Hyperion / CD - released 3/Nov/2004 ] 'The power of Tavener at his best is fully unlocked by Polyphony and Stephen Layton, whose sensitivity to the sacred and human in his music communicates in every work on this disc' - Classic FM Magazine |
JOHN TAVENER
The Second Coming and other choral works Polyphony Stephen Layton, conductor [ Hyperion SACD / SACD - released 3/Nov/2004 ] On Hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) format, presented in full 5.1 surround sound! PLAYABLE ON ANY CD SYSTEM - 'The power of Tavener at his best is fully unlocked by Polyphony and Stephen Layton, whose sensitivity to the sacred and human in his music... |
WALTON
The Twelve / Coronation Te Deum / Drop, Drop, Slow Tears, etc Polyphony, Wallace Collection, Stephen Layton, James Vivian (organ) [ Hyperion / CD - released 4/Jun/2002 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2002 - Choral - 'An outstanding collection' |
Polyphony/Britten Sinf/Layton
Macmillan: Seven Last Words [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Aug/2005 ] |
WILLIAM BYRD / JOHN TAVENER
Four Part Mass / 4 Motets / Alternatim Pieces Sacred Polyphony / Pro Cantione Antiqua / Bruno Turner & Mark Brown, directors [ Regis Records / CD - released 18/Oct/2005 ] "..sung with conviction and understanding.." - Organists Review |
Stephen Polyphony/Layton
Tavener: New Choral Works [ Hyperion / Hybrid SACD - released 30/Aug/2004 ] |
ERIC WHITACRE
Whitacre: Cloudburst & Other Choral Works Stephen Layton, Polyphony [ Hyperion / CD - released 30/Jan/2006 ] At the age of only 35, Eric Whitacre has already gained a reputation in the United States that many composers strive for a lifetime to achieve. The American Record Guide named his first recording one of the top ten classical albums in 1997, and the... |
BURGON / DUBRA / MacMILLAN / MAW / TAVENER / etc
Dreamland: Contemporary choral riches from the Hyperion catalogue [special price] Various Artists (Including Holst Singers, Polyphony, Stephen Layton, Choir of Westminster Abbey, James O’Donnell) [ Hyperion / CD - released 20/Oct/2009 ] A new and intriguing sampler features a selection of pieces from Hyperion's extensive and varied choral collection. This disc seeks to give a flavour of the contemporary choral music recorded by Hyperion over the last decade. Whilst on one level it... |