Bach : Passion selon saint Jean. Layton.

   in Early Music Today (Jun, 2013)
Stephen Layton directs this intense, dramatic reading with intelligence and integrity, ably assisted by an excellent team of soloists. Ian Bostridge is a superbly articulate, agile and expressive Evangelist, giving weight and meaning to the narrative’s every word, and Neal Davies’s firm, resonant bass as Christ provides appropriate gravitas in contrast with Roderick Williams’ robustly sung Pilate. Carolyn Sampson and Nicholas Mulroy sing their arias with control and conviction, complemented on occasion by some admirable wind obbligatos, and Iestyn Davies gives a mellifluous, moving account of ‘Es ist vollbracht’, with gambist Richard Tunnicliffe deftly setting its grief-stricken mood. Layton’s small choir, Polyphony, responds alertly to the changing dramatic demands, making urgent, …