Perfect Polyphony

2013 sees the centenary of Britten’s birth and a wide-ranging programme of concerts, operas and events, including performances of his choral music. This recording is the perfect introduction to this repertoire. Included on this Gramophone Award-winning recording is the last choral work for professionals which Britten was to complete—Sacred and Profane—a collection of eight medieval lyrics for voices in five parts (SSATB). Also included is the Chorale after an old French Carol whose text is by W H Auden (a close friend of Britten’s). The Chorale’s text was part of an unachieved Christmas Oratorio on which Britten and Auden intended to collaborate.

Arvo Part - Choral Works - Stephen Layton, Polyphony (2014) {Hyperion - CDA68056}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 283 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 145 Mb
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© 2014 Hyperion Records | CDA68056
Classical / Avant-Garde / Choral / Chamber Music / Modern Composition

Stephen Layton and Polyphony have a long and fruitful relationship with the music of Arvo Pärt. Their recording of Triodion and other choral works (CDA67375) won a Gramophone Award and became a cult classic. The extraordinary purity of Polyphony’s singing is the perfect vehicle for music of such clean, elemental simplicity, such cathartic calm. This third Pärt album from Stephen Layton and Polyphony reaches right back, intriguingly, to the composer’s youthful modernist phase and spans nearly five decades—from 1963 to 2012—in the process. As with the album Triodion, it reflects an increasingly broad spread of languages and sources in Pärt’s chosen texts. Latin, German and English are joined here by Church Slavonic and Spanish. A range of biblical texts are set alongside ancient prayers.

"In the six years since this female quartet astonished the music world with its clear- voiced, impeccably sung renditions of medieval chant and polyphonic music, chant rose from the dark and dusty corners of classical music to enjoy a phenomenal run at center stage.New and reissued chant recordings achieved sales figures normally reserved for popular music. This is the recording that started it all (that Spanish monks disc came later), winning awards and earning near- permanent resident status on the national charts. Spiritually moving and vocally revelatory, this program recreates a kind of mass sung in English churches during the 13th and 14th centuries. With their warm tone and perfect intonation, these four singers achieve an expressiveness that is rare among chant interpreters, most effective in the seductive, highly ornamented 'Kyrie.' The sound is exemplary–although a studio recording, it perfectly conveys the atmosphere of an English cathedral."

David Vernier, Amazon.com

Anonymous - Messe de Tournai, XIVe siècle - Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès (1990) {Harmonia Mundi HMA 1951353 rel 2006}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 229 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 127 Mb
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© 1990, 2006 Harmonia Mundi | HMA 1951353
Classical / Medieval / Early Music / Polyphony / Sacred

This is an all-male vocal recording, including chant (Propers) and polyphony (Ordinary). The Mass of Tournai is early 14th century, a decade or so before that of Machaut. Some have argued that it does not show a unified design, and so Machaut's setting is the first unified mass cycle. The respective unities are not clear - at most it is a matter of degree - although it is not known whether this mass was composed by one composer or many. At any rate, it is the first mass cycle declared as such. The concluding Ite missa est leads into a true motet, with different texts in the two upper voices.

Anonymous 4 - Lily & The Lamb: Chant & polyphony from medieval England
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 288 MB | Full Artwork: 53 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Harmonia Mundi # HMU 907125 | Country/Year: Europe 1995
Genre: Classical | Style: Medieval

"The singing is absolutely gorgeous. Not only do the 4 sound like angels; they phrase and inflect seraphically as well. You need go no further than the 'O Gloriosa Domina' Processional that starts the program to hear their clear, handsome, seemingly effortless unanimity in action…'Stond wel, moder, under roode' took my breath away." – American Record Guide

Anonymous 4 - Lily & The Lamb
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 289 MB | Full Artwork: 258 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Harmonia Mundi # HMU 907125 | Country/Year: Europe 1995
Genre: Classical, Sacred | Style: Medieval, Vocal

"The singing is absolutely gorgeous. Not only do the 4 sound like angels; they phrase and inflect seraphically as well. You need go no further than the 'O Gloriosa Domina' Processional that starts the program to hear their clear, handsome, seemingly effortless unanimity in action…'Stond wel, moder, under roode' took my breath away." – American Record Guide

The Tallis Scholars - Requiem
2xCD | EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 582 MB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Gimmel Records # CDGIM 205 | Country/Year: UK 2005 (1987, 1990, 1992, 1997)
Genre: Classical | Style: Vocal, Renaissance, Sacred

"From the split second that the opening Requiem aeternam chant is heard, every listener is inevitably transported. It is a classic instance of the power of music to communicate without reserve." ~Peter Phillips