Search - Walton, Stephen Layton, Polyphony :: Walton: Coronation Te Deum and Other Choral Music

Hyperion may have been beaten to the post with Naxos's Walton centenary album of much the same repertory from the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge. But this is still a cracking good release--crackling, indeed, at the outset with a wonderfully crisp Coronation Te Deum. Polyphony and conductor Stephen Layton have impressed so often for Hyperion, but perhaps haven't always displayed the last ounce of star quality, as if despite their pedigree, much of the wide-ranging repertoire they've recorded isn't totally bedded in. Here, though, there can be barely a reservation. There's no lack of conviction and character, and the sound is truly thrilling when the singers let go--and they're mighty impressive in the more complex music, such as the meaty mini-Cantata The Twelve and Cantico del Sole. The Missa Brevis and other liturgical numbers may have been written with boy choristers in mind, but the Polyphony sound embraces them convincingly. We're treated to three versions of the well-traveled A Litany, and also to a string of familiar Christmas "fillers," such as All this time and What cheer? Overall, it's a good, clean recording (made in two venues). --Andrew Green