Philip Reed
Choir & Organ
November 2014

The ever-excellent Polyphony and Stephen Layton have put together a very special disc of music by Pärt in readiness for the composer’s 80th birthday next year. The hour-long programme ranges from Solfeggio (1963) to the recent Virgencita (2012) in its first recording. The perfectly balanced, richly warm tones of Polyphony, especially its outstanding bass section, suit Pärt’s translucent textures extremely well, and one can’t help but admire the power of this supposedly ‘simple’ music.