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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Poulenc - Gloria and Motets
Susan Gritton Polyphony, Britten Sinfonia, The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, Stephen Layton Stephen Layton and Polyphony continue to blaze a trail as great interpreters and dazzling performers of a wide range of choral music. Their recent disc of Bruckner’s Mass in E minor and motets was acclaimed as a benchmark recording. For their latest Hyperion disc they turn to some of the most bewitching and unusual, yet well-loved, choral works of the twentieth century.
Poulenc’s choral music is a deep expression both of his faith and of his unique musical language. In the various motets, the music responds to the composer’s studies of Bach, Monteverdi, Palestrina and Gabrieli, but is always stylistically progressive. Prominently featured are Poulenc’s distinctive and often ingenious chord progressions. Each motet has its own delightfully etched personality.
Poulenc’s Gloria is one of his most enduringly appealing works. In some ways straightforwardly pious, it is also tinged with mischievous irreverence and a sense of rollocking enjoyment. ‘When I wrote this piece’, Poulenc famously recalled, ‘I had in mind those frescoes by Gozzoli where the angels stick out their tongues; and also some serious Benedictine monks I had once seen revelling in a game of football.’ This recording by the Britten Sinfonia, The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, Polyphony and the soprano soloist Susan Gritton under Stephen Layton brings out all these aspects in a classic performance. “Gloriously pompous,” says Marc Rochester of the fanfare that opens Poulenc’s Gloria. He’s quite right, of course, but also right in pointing out that it is absolutely electric. And that goes for much of this terrific album. When the massed forces of Polyphony, the Britten Sinfonia and the Trinity College Choir ring out at full strength, the sound is simply incredible. Gramophone Magazine | 
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| |  | Bruckner - Mass in E minor & Motets
Polyphony with Britten Sinfonia, Stephen Layton ‘The seven unaccompanied motets are absolute gems. An ethereal account of Ave Maria has a breadth and grandeur which belies its short time-span; as the vocal lines crowd in on each other, the effect is nothing short of electrifying. And popular as it is, if there has to be a ‘definitive’ interpretation on disc of Locus iste, this has to be it. Put it simply, we’re unlikely to hear choral singing as fine as this for a good few years to come’ (Gramophone) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Alina Ibragimova (violin) Britten Sinfonia Making her recording debut for Hyperion in this disc of important repertoire is the spectacular young Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova (b1985). Alina’s many concert appearances throughout Europe have earned her the highest praise, and, as Richard Morrison wrote in The Times, she is ‘destined to be a force in the classical music firmament for decades to come … you feel that you are getting the music straight from the composer’s quill’. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Bairstow - Choral Music
Paul Provost (organ) & Roderick Williams (baritone) The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge & Britten Sinfonia, David Hill (Director of Music) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Lauridsen - Nocturnesand other choral music
Andrew Lumsden (organ), Morten Lauridsen (piano) & Morten Lauridsen (finger cymbals) Polyphony & Britten Sinfonia, Stephen Layton ‘What more can one say of the singing other than that it is Polyphony? This ensemble—surely one of the best small choirs now before the public— invests everything it sings with insight, crisp ensemble and tonal warmth’ (The Daily Telegraph) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Kate Hill & Lucy Wakeford Britten Sinfonia, Nicholas Cleobury | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Finzi / Britten / Holst - Choral Works
Alison Barlow (soprano), David Hoult (baritone), John Alley (organ), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Stephen Varcoe (baritone) Britten Singers, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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John Mark Ainsley Britten Sinfonia, Nicholas Cleobury | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Neural Circuits
Joanna MacGregor (piano), Aref Durvesh (tabla) Britten Sinfonia, Ensemble Bash, Play Ensemble Neural Circuits is a unique collaboration with the Britten Sinfonia, Ensemble Bash, the Play Ensemble and tabla player Aref Durvesh in a selection of works ranging from the visionary world of Arvo Pårt to traditional bell music from Ghana.
In a time of confusion and conflict, Neural Circuits explores music's power to show our essential interconnectedness.
It includes new works by Nitin Sawhney and a new departure for Joanna MacGregor - this CD marks her debut as a conductor. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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