Polyphony, UK


Photo by Anders Lillebo

Stephen Layton, director

AVAILABLE IN THE U.S.A.:     October 15-31, 2025

Formed by Stephen Layton in 1986 for a concert in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, Polyphony has since gone on to become “possibly the best small professional chorus in the world” (Encore Magazine, USA).

For more than a decade Polyphony has given annual sell-out performances of Bach’s St John Passion and Handel’s Messiah at St John’s Smith Square.  According to the Evening Standard “no one but no one performs Handel’s Messiah better every year than the choir Polyphony”, and The Times “would rate it among the finest John Passions I have ever heard.”

In the US, Polyphony’s recordings have twice been nominated for Grammy Awards: in 2006 for Lux aeterna, a disc of works by Morten Lauridsen, and in 2007 for a CD of works by Eric Whitacre, Cloudburst.  This “staggering disc” (BBC Radio 3) spent more than fifty weeks in the Billboard Classical Album Chart, and has been hailed by The Times as “extraordinarily beautiful,” by CNN as “outstanding,” and by Classic FM Magazine as “unmissable.”

 

“One of the best small choirs now before the public.” (Telegraph)

“A performance of real distinction … simply incredible.” (Gramophone Magazine)

“Incandescent choral glory – Polyphony is revelatory in American repertoire” (BBC Music Magazine)

“Stephen Layton’s choir have become renowned for both their sound and versatility – whether in early music, or contemporary works such as those of Eric Whitacre, they embody the remarkable tradition of British choral excellence at its finest.” (Gramophone Magazine)

“There are few finer exponents of this great oratorio than Polyphony and Stephen Layton … if you only listen to one Messiah this Christmas, Stephen Layton and Polyphony’s live recording should be it.” (Classic FM Magazine)