Polyphony
Polyphony was formed by Stephen Layton in 1986 for a concert in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. After successive concerts there the group moved its base to London, and has subsequently expanded its field of activities from there.
Polyphony have given concerts in France, Spain, Denmark, Brazil and at festivals all over the UK. The group made a double BBC Proms debut in 1995 with performances of Arvo Pärt's St John Passion with The Hilliard Ensemble, and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with Les Musiciens du Louvre and have returned regularly in subsequent seasons. Polyphony performed the world premiere of Oceanos by James Dillon in 1996 and, in that same year, performed Schnittke's Symphony No. 2 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. Polyphony perform regularly in London at St Martin in the Fields and St John's Smith Square. Their performances in both venues have received enthusiastic acclaim in the press - the St John Passion at St John's, Smith Square was hailed in The Times as a "Passion to remember" and according to The Evening Standard Polyphony's rendition of Messiah in St John's, Smith Square was a "vivid injection of the freshest air".
Polyphony have a considerable discography, ranging from the group's first recording in 1995, for BMG Catalyst, featuring choral works by James MacMillan, which was shortlisted for the music industry's Mercury Awards, through the music of Grieg and Grainger for Hyperion and John Rutter's Requiem with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta to choral works by Arvo Pärt. The group's most recent recording releases, Rutter's Gloria with the Wallace Collection and a collection of Britten's choral music, both for Hyperion, have been highly praised in the press, the former being chosen as Editor's Choice in the August 2001 edition of Gramophone magazine and the latter winning the Gramophone choral award in 2001.
For the last few Christmases Polyphony have performed a cappella concerts at St John's, Smith Square and had sell-out performances of Messiah at St John's, Smith Square and St Martin in the Fields. The group have given regular radio broadcasts, including an EBU broadcast of Bach's Christmas Oratorio in 1996, a BBC Radio 3 recording of Bach's St John Passion in London on Good Friday 1997 and a BBC Lunchtime Concert at the Temple Church last December.
Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact Hazard Chase to ensure that you receive the most up to date version.
Email: Sarah Trelawny
