ENGSLV

Stephen Layton MBE

Reviews

Press notices and interviews, by publication and by year.

2015

  1. Music OMHHandel: Messiah“The best bleedin’ Messiah in the country” was Heddle Nash’s self-assessment, and the same phrase is right…Concert Review
  2. 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
  3. The Evening StandardBach: B minor MassThe Choir of Trinity College Cambridge is no ordinary Oxbridge choir. Fielding no fewer than 30 choral…Concert Review
  4. 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
  5. Music Web InternationalVarious: Yulefest!A couple of themes run through this attractive Christmas music compilation. One is the presence of a number…CD Review
  6. The Daily TelegraphVarious: Yulefest!The Best Classical CDs for ChristmasCD Review
  7. 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
  8. Los Angeles TimesVarious: Yulefest!Sublime singing of the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, under the direction of Stephen Layton, marks the a…CD Review
  9. BBC Music MagazineVarious: Yulefest!Performance Recording Since going to Trinity College, Cambridge nine years ago conductor Stephen Layton has…CD Review
  10. Sinfini MusicVarious: American PolyphonyCenturies of puritanical preaching and religious dogma have worked to supress the eternal human drive to draw…CD Review
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. MusicWeb InternationalVarious: American PolyphonyStephen Layton has come up with a most attractive programme of a cappella choral pieces by twentieth century…CD Review
  14. 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
  15. Presto ClassicalVarious: American PolyphonyWith the USA having just celebrated Independence Day, it seems fitting that this week it should be American…CD Review
  16. BBC Music MagazineVarious: American PolyphonyIncandescent choral glory - Polyphony is revelatory in American repertoire Performance: 5 stars Recording: 5…CD Review
  17. BBC Music MagazineVarious: American PolyphonyStephen Layton tells Rebecca Franks how he came up with an all-American programme for his choir Polyphony…Q&A
  18. The Seattle TimesBaroque and Wine: SeattleDistinguished English conductor Stephen Layton led Seattle Symphony players and vocalists in a stellar…Concert Review
  19. 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
  20. BBC Music MagazineLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisPerformance Recording The text of Kenneth Leighton's cantata Crucifixus pro nobis is the ecclesiastical…CD Review
  21. Gramophone MagazineLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisKenneth Leighton's remarkably consistent musical style means that his characteristic traits, such as…CD Review
  22. 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
  23. Sinfini MusicEšenvalds - Northern LightsThere’s a perception that classical listeners have to choose between the credible and the enjoyable: liking…CD Review
  24. 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
  25. 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
  26. Reutlinger General-AnzeigerECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
  27. Stuttgarter ZeitungECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
  28. Stuttgarter NachrichtenECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
  29. Ludwigsburger KreiszeitungECLAT New Music FestivalConcert Review
  30. Latvians OnlineEšenvalds - Northern LightsLatvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds has not only become one of the most celebrated composers in Latvia, but his…CD Review
  31. 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
  32. Gramophone MagazineEšenvalds - Northern LightsBorn in 1977, Latvian Ēriks Ešenvalds is principally known as a composer of choral music. This album…CD Review
  33. Classical Music SentinelEšenvalds - Northern LightsWhen I initially heard and reviewed the first recording completely dedicated to the music of Latvian composer…CD Review
  34. Allmusic.comEšenvalds - Northern LightsOne critic has dubbed the music of Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds "relentless rapture," and it's true that…CD Review
  35. BBC Music MagazineLeighton: Crucifxus pro nobisThe text of Kenneth Leighton's cantata Crucifixus pro nobis is the ecclesiastical equivalent of a snuff…CD Review
  36. Choir and OrganEšenvalds - Northern LightsLatvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds goes from strength to strength, if the evidence of this exemplary recording…CD Review
  37. The Northern EchoEšenvalds - Northern LightsThe Trinity College Choir Cambridge under the direction of Stephen Layton give superlative performances of…CD Review
  38. The Sunday TimesVarious: American PolyphonyThe peerless choir offer meticulously blended and shaped performances of 20th-century a cappella American…CD Review
  39. 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
  40. LimelightLeighton - Crucifixus & other choral worksEngaging take on some once-bold, modernist Anglican music. Kenneth Leighton came to prominence in the 1960s…CD Review
  41. Le NouvellisteSwitzerland TourEnglish translation below More than 600 people came to listen to the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge this…Concert Review
  42. 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