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Track(s) taken from CDA67330

A Litany '1st version'

composer
Easter 1916
author of text

Polyphony, Stephen Layton (conductor)
Recording details: January 2002
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: June 2002
Total duration: 3 minutes 3 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

The Cambridge Singers, John Rutter (conductor)

Reviews

‘An outstanding collection’ (Gramophone)

‘What a splendid work it is, especially when sung with the verve brought to it by Stephen Layton’s choir Polyphony’ (The Sunday Telegraph)

‘Performances are vibrant and energetic, and attack the scrunchy harmonies with complete accuracy’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘A wonderfully refreshing interpretation’ (The Observer)

‘This sterling collection should win Walton’s choral music many new fans’ (American Record Guide)

‘Every generation delivers an outstanding talent with the vision and commitment necessary to produce refreshingly individual, totally convincing interpretations. Stephen Layton's readings of Walton's choral music on this tremendous disc are without equal, supported by the high-octane, stylish singing of Polyphony and one of the finest recorded sounds I've heard for years. Layton sets a stately speed for the Coronation Te Deum, although the crisp brass fanfares of the Wallace Collection and articulate work from the choir convey a rare energy and exuberance. Buy it!’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘From fanfare to finale this is a very fine and fitting centenary compilation indeed’ (Organists' Review)

‘For Waltonians, this is a compulsory purchase’ (HMV Choice)

‘A great collection and an absolute winner’ (Cathedral Music)

«On trouve chez Layton, avec des chœurs d’une beauté et d’une précision étonnantes, un surcroît de chaleur et d’investissement, ce qui place ce disque en tête de la discographie» (Répertoire, France)
Church music, although never central in Walton’s output, formed a small but valuable part of his life’s work. A Litany was in fact his first published composition, written at Oxford when the composer was only 16, and far more than a precocious trifle. Its craftsmanship is assured, its harmonic language already distinctively Waltonian, its sense of melancholy prophetic of the opening chorus of Belshazzar’s Feast, written more than ten years later.

from notes by Collegium Records © 1997

Other albums featuring this work

Hail, gladdening Light
COLCD113Download only
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