Polyphony | Andrew Benson-Wilson : Early Music Reviews +

Bach: Christmas Oratorio
Polyphony, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Stephen Layton
St John’s, Smith Square. 22 December 2024

The Christmas Festival at St John’s, Smith Square (now rather boringly renamed as Smith Square Hall) has been a key part of London’s Christmas music season for nearly 40 years. The climax of these festivals has been the traditional two performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Messiah from Polyphony and, in recent years, the choir of Trinity College Cambridge, conducted by the artistic director of the festival, Stephen Layton. Having recently left his post of Director of Music at Trinity College, both events now feature Polyphony together with the period instrumentalists of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

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Bach: Christmas Oratorio
Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Stephen Layton
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
St John’s, Smith Square, 22 December 2018

Whatever joys the St John’s Smith Square Christmas Festival comes up with year after year (this is the 33rd), the climax comes with the final two (always sold-out) concerts conducted by the festival director, Stephen Layton, firstly with his own Trinity College Cambridge choir, and then with his professional choir, Polyphony. In recent years both concerts have been accompanied by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE). The first of the two concerts is usually Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Parts 1, 2, 3 & 6), sung by the student choir of Trinity College, the second, Messiah, sung by Polyphony.

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