One of England's most favored compact vocal ensembles, Polyphony stages yearly renderings of works by Handel and Bach that rank among the principal attractions on the capital's classical agenda each season. Its programming spans an uncommonly broad spectrum, extending from Baroque repertoire through present-day British compositions to minimalist scores from Eastern Europe.
Stephen Layton established the group in 1986 during his undergraduate years at Cambridge, well before he assumed the post of director of music at Trinity College, Cambridge. Conceived at first for a solitary appearance in King's College Chapel, the ensemble soon revealed a clear demand for a modest-to-mid-sized body of roughly twenty-five singers operating beyond the usual cathedral framework. Annual stagings of Handel's Messiah, HWV 56, and Bach's St. John Passion, BWV 245, were introduced at St. John's Smith's Square Concert Hall in London, quickly maturing into signature fixtures of the city's classical Christmas calendar, with seats frequently claimed months ahead. Multiple visits to the BBC Proms followed, among them a 2011 collaboration with the City of London Sinfonia for Mozart's Requiem, K. 626, several of which received broadcast transmission. Occasional foreign engagements have taken the singers to Spain, France, and Brazil.
Under Layton's direction the choir has distinguished itself through sustained advocacy of modern choral literature. Alongside the widely performed British pieces of John Tavener, James MacMillan, and John Rutter, it has embraced a notably international selection that encompasses the familiar scores of Arvo Pärt as well as those of the less frequently encountered Veljo Tormis, Pawel Lukaszewski, and Einojuhani Rautavaara. Its first commercial release, devoted to MacMillan's Seven Last Words from the Cross, appeared on the Catalyst label in 1995; thereafter the ensemble moved to Hyperion, where its carefully recorded discs, highlighting the ensemble's clear timbre, met with immediate favor. Two or three albums have often appeared within a single calendar year. In 2019 Polyphony issued Miserere: Songs of Mercy and Redemption, comprising brief works by the widely known choral composer Karl Jenkins.
