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| Walton
- Coronation Te Deum - Reviews |
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| BBC Music Magazine - June 2002
This collection of Walton's smaller choral works
includes the four carols omitted from the recent Naxos issue with the
Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, and gets off to a resounding
start with the short Queen's Fanfare from 1959, leading unauthentically
but seamlessly into the Coronation Te Deum. In its original scoring with
brass, organ and percussion, this has the confidence and swagger
familiar from Belshazzar's Feast, as well as moments of lyricism, and
most of the other pieces follow one or other of these paths. Outstanding
are the reflective Where does the Uttered Music go? written in memory of
Henry Wood, and The Twelve, whose words by Auden give Walton the space
to create a more extended structure, almost like a miniature cantata.
Many of the shorter pieces are no more than chips off
the old block, written to commission, and hearing them in quick
succession points up the recurrence of particular harmonic and rhythmic
quirks ('Make we joy' and 'All this time' are virtually anagrams of each
other): but it's good to hear the young composer finding himself through
the three versions of Drop, Drop Slow Tears. Performances are vibrant
and energetic, and attack the scrunchy harmonies with complete accuracy.
Martin Cotton
PERFORMANCE *****
SOUND *****
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| Classic FM Magazine - June 2002
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
De Deum, although the crisp brass fanfares of the Wallace Collection and
articulate work from the choir convey a rare energy and exuberance. Buy
it!
Andrew
Stewart |
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| Music Week - June 2002
Album of the week
Gramophone Award-winning choir Polyphony and their
inspired conductor Stephen Layton appear set for further prizes on the
strength of their latest Hyperion release, an anthology of choral works
by William Walton issued to mark the composer's centenary and the
Queen's Golden Jubilee. This disc, which opens with Walton's
Fanfare for Elizabeth II and Coronation Te Deum, is distinguished
throughout by Layton's unwavering commitment to the highest artistic
standards and his choir's ability to live up to them. |
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| ABC Classic FM CD
of the Week
William Walton made his reputation in the first
instance with his film scores, of which he wrote very many, especially
for films made by the War Office. The suite "The First of the
Few" is one of the best known. But he's also famous for his choral
music, which is unique in its splendid style. This is a superbly
performed and recorded disc from Polyphony, one of Britain's leading
choral groups, with the outstanding young conductor Stephen Layton. They
have teamed up with The Wallace Collection, a group of excellent brass
players assembled by John Wallace, and now regarded as one of the finest
brass groups in existence. Together they perform a wide range of
Walton's choral music, from the Coronation Te Deum, written for Queen
Elizabeth II, to the Missa Brevis, and shorter pieces and traditional
songs. |
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| HMV Choice - July 2002
When it came to pomp and circumstance, Oldham's
William Walton was a kind of Elgar with attitude, perfectly capable of
conjuring the grand, ceremonial gestures needed on state occasions, but
with a sharper edge, and the creeping cynicism of a later generation.
Thus the Coronation Te Deum (1953) which gives this disc its title
virtually approaches parody in places, so brazen are the juxtapositions
of loud and softer music, so unbridled the outbursts of brass
instruments in the accompaniment. Missa Brevis is a much more subtle and
harmonically interesting work, with some highly effective writing for
the soloists. The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, written for Walter
Hussey of Chichester Cathedral (“the queer dean”, as Walton
indelicately termed him), also has excellent solo writing, though
Walton's typical impatience with the ecclesiastical idiom makes for a
fairly abrupt conclusion (“How I dislike the words”, he wrote). A
smattering of shorter pieces round out this excellently performed choral
portrait, including the intriguingly titled “King Herod and the Cock”. |
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| hmv.co.uk - May 2002
This disc is a tribute to two anniversaries - the
centenary of English composer William Walton's birth and the Golden
Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth. Featuring Walton's Coronation Te Deum and
a fine selection from his other choral works, the singing is quite
extraordinary. Gramophone award-winning Polyphony and The Wallace
Collection combine with breathtaking ability under the directorship of
Stephen Layton. Recorded at Hereford Cathedral over three days, it also
features that building's majestic organ. |
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