Stephen Layton MBE

Reviews

Press notices and interviews, by year.

2010

  1. Audiophile AuditionVarious: Baltic ExchangeHyperion continues to astound by coming up with unknown and eminently-listenable music from various parts of…CD Review
  2. Skånska DagbladetDanish National Vocal EnsembleKörsång när den är som allra bästConcert Review
  3. The GuardianBach: St John PassionThe last-minute withdrawal of the tenor Evangelist from a performance of Bach's St John Passion would…Concert Review
  4. The TabEšenvalds: Passion & ResurrectionEriks Esenvalds clearly felt like a million dollars at the end of Thursday's performance of his oratorio…CD Review
  5. Music Web InternationalVarious: Baltic ExchangeBaltic Exchange is an apt title for a selection of choral works by four Baltic composers sung by a British…CD Review
  6. Gramophone MagazineVarious: Baltic ExchangeA fascinating collection of choral works by composers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, centring on a Mass…CD Review
  7. Classical Music MagazineVarious: Baltic ExchangeLayton delves into Baltic melting pot A regular visitor since the lifting of the iron curtain, Stephen Latyon…CD Review
  8. Gramophone MagazineVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2'The programme is scrupulously prepared, with excellent pronunciation, idiomatic timbres anda fine fusion of…CD Review
  9. The OldieBriggs: Mass for Notre DameOur own great latter-day improviser, a man who in his fantasy organ world David Hyde Pierce would probably…CD Review
  10. Audiophile AuditionVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2I can’t believe that it’s been 13 years since Ikon came out by these same forces. At the time I considered it…CD Review
  11. The TelegraphVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2Performing with insight and commendable Russian sonority, the Holst Singers have cast their net wide in this…CD Review
  12. International Record ReviewVarious: Ikon, Vol. 2The remarkable performances of the Holst Singers, securely balanced on the tightrope between pianissimo…CD Review
  13. The AustralianAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirThe cacophony of Canberra politics temporarily gave way on Wednesday night to sounds far more harmonious. The…Concert Review
  14. The Age, MelbourneAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirVisitors for Musica Viva representing the Oxbridge and wider British cathedral choral traditions, the Choir…Concert Review
  15. The Manly DailyAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirIt was obvious from the opening short but lovely Arvo Part Slavonic Ave Maria, which quickly melded into an…Concert Review
  16. The Adelaide AdvertiserAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirFlawless in every aspect of choral technique and interpretation, the 30 undergraduates of the college created…Concert Review
  17. West AustralianAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirTickets to the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre have sold out and…Concert Review
  18. BBC Music MagazineVarious: Baltic ExchangeNo longer the preserve of their own choirs, the choral music of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania now flows in…CD Review
  19. The Sydney Morning HeraldAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirSoundtrack to a revolution shows rare beauty On the night of June 10, 1988, more than 300,000 Estonians -…Concert Review
  20. North Shore TimesAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirExtraordinary ensemble cohesion was the hallmark of the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge during its concert…Concert Review
  21. The Hobart MercuryAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirTrinity College Choir began its first tour of Australia in Hobart. The program order emphasized harmonic and…Concert Review
  22. The AustralianAustralia Tour: Trinity College ChoirChoral scholars offer a masterclass in sacred music On a chilly evening in Hobart, the Choir of Trinity…Concert Review
  23. Gramophone MagazineBriggs: Mass for Notre DameEditor's Choice These works give the lie to the old adage that the natural enemy of the Brits is the French…CD Review
  24. BBC Music MagazineBriggs: Mass for Notre DameThis is a mass with a difference: not only does it have four interpolated organ improvisations as part and…CD Review
  25. International Record ReviewBriggs: Mass for Notre DameThere's only one word for this. Spectacular. Let's start with the recording. Gloucester Cathedral is an…CD Review
  26. Choir and OrganBriggs: Mass for Notre DameDavid Briggs has spent much time and persistent care in transcribing improvisations by Pierre Ccochereau…CD Review
  27. Classical Music SentinelBriggs: Mass for Notre DameAll of you who have become convinced that any new music being written these days is only going to be either…CD Review
  28. The Oxford TimesBach: MotetsThe London-based Holst Singers have been called “one of Britain’s foremost choirs”, and after hearing them at…Concert Review
  29. Opera News NYCHandel: MessiahAny Handel oratorio needs to be an elastic entity in our day, just as it was in Handel’s. Considering the…CD Recording
  30. Classics Today.comVarious: Baltic ExchangeThis is a major release that choral music fans will not want to miss. Here is a program of modern works (most…CD Review
  31. Odense Symphony OrchestraBach: St John PassionStunning Easter experienceConcert Review
  32. The Irish TimesVarious: Baltic ExchangeThink of Baltic choral music and you probably think of something by Arvo Pärt. This new CD leaves him aside…CD Review
  33. The Philadelphia InquirerVarious: Baltic ExchangeEarly this year when the Philadelphia choir the Crossing unveiled great music by the little-known young…CD Review
  34. klassiekezaken.nlVarious: Baltic ExchangeDoor de bekendheid van hun koormuziek kan de indruk bestaan dat boven de Noordzee alleen Pärt en Rautavaara…CD Review
  35. The Arts DeskVarious: Baltic ExchangeA fascinating anthology of contemporary a capella vocal works from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the music…CD Review
  36. Music Web InternationalHandel: MessiahIn a sense this release brings my experience to date of Messiah on CD full circle. The very first Messiah…CD Review