The Guardian - The Week in Classical, April 2023

A further review from The Guardian of Polyphony's St John Passion at St John's Smith Square with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, directed by Stephen Layton: "...behind them all, rock-solid, alert to every nuance in the drama, stood Polyphony, diction crisp, phrasing meticulous. Simply superb."

St John Passion ★★★★★

And so to JS Bach himself. Print deadlines are unforgiving things and conspire every year to keep Easter music reviews out of Easter Sunday papers, so indulge me for a moment while I go back and reflect on Good Friday’s St John Passion, performed by Polyphony and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, under Stephen Layton. Even with church attendance in decline, it seems the desire to hear the Christian story and its message of redemption is as strong as ever in these febrile times, with performances of the Bach Passions drawing large audiences right across the country in search of a sense of the divine.

Of course a deep spirituality is always to be found in Bach, but particularly when it is performed so sincerely by top-flight musicians such as tenor Nick Pritchard (no relation, sadly), Evangelist in the Polyphony performance. He sang from memory with such exquisite care, communicating his story directly to every one of us, often soft and gentle, pained at what he had to tell, and then visibly angry at the bone-headed chorus baying for Jesus’s crucifixion. This was an outstanding interpretation, an Evangelist for today.

Bass Ashley Riches was equally vivid in his lip-curling portrayal of cynical Pilate, with intense, moving solos from soprano Rowan Pierce, tenor Ruairi Bowen and mezzo Helen Charlston, who handled the grief and triumph in Es ist vollbracht! with startling clarity. Obbligato playing from within the orchestra was elegant throughout. And behind them all, rock-solid, alert to every nuance in the drama, stood Polyphony, diction crisp, phrasing meticulous. Simply superb.

Stephen Pritchard, The Guardian, 15 April 2023