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'Above all, these performances by Stephen Layton's Polyphony are breathtakingly beautiful, powerfully expressive without trace of forced sentimentality. Hyperion's Disc of the Month for March should become one of the year's classical hits'
'Every one of the works on this mesmerising Hyperion release is deliciously lyrical and harmonically sumptuous, but spiced with delicate dissonances that are Lauridsen's signature … Every performance here is delivered with liquid perfection'
'exquisitely sung by Polyphony with strong support from the Britten Sinfonia under Stephen Layton'
'The sound is very clean, very focused and detailed, and has remarkable sound-stage depth. Even more so as an SACD … The bottom line is, if you aren't familiar with Lux aeterna, your life is the poorer for it. You do need a recording of it'
Westminster Cathedral? Broadway? Estonia even? In fact it’s the shamelessly ecstatic writing of the American composer Morten Lauridsen raising alleluias at the end of his Lux aeterna. This extended work for chorus and orchestra was premièred in 1997 by the Los Angeles Master Chorale for whom it was written. And it’s performed here by Stephen Layton’s Polyphony and the Britten Sinfonia.
Lauridsen...
The Veil of the Temple is a huge conception. The full version plays for 480 minutes, according to the Chester Novello website www.chester-novello.com. I believe the full score consists of 850 pages! What we have here is a recording of the concert version which Tavener made and which was performed by these same forces at the Henry Wood Promenade concerts in London on 1 August 2004. I vividly...