Polyphony

Polyphony, in its regular context, is the art of combining individual musical voices into a texture resulting in harmony. Polyphony, the English chamber choir group, is led by Stephen Layton and was founded in 1986 for a single concert in King's College Chapel at Cambridge and has been going strong ever since. Recording exclusively for Hyperion and a regular, since 1995, at the BBC Proms concerts, Polyphony is highly regarded for its interpretations of the sacred choral music of contemporary composers, for example Arvo Pärt, John Rutter, John Tavener, James MacMillan, James Dillon, and others. In older literature, the group's annual performances of Handel's Messiah and Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion are among the most anticipated events in the London music scene, and tickets for these events sell out months in advance. So popular is Polyphony in its native England that the group seldom needs to travel elsewhere, but the group has appeared in France, Spain, Brazil, Denmark, and Hungary.