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Summary: Sublime music, sublime performance
Comment: I cannot fathom why this recording remains an import. It has already attained the status of a classic in the Poulenc discography and for audiophiles it is indispensable. When I read the ecstatic reviews in Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine several months ago I was a bit skeptical, despite my enormous respect for Stephen Layton and Polyphony. For the a cappella pieces (the Lenten and Christmas motets), no problem--you would expect Polyphony to nail the austere style and diaphanous textures. But what about the panoramic and quasi-operatic scope of the "Gloria"? That seemed a stretch. For this recording, however, Polyphony enlisted the resources of the Trinity College choir, the Britten Sinfonia, and the estimable soprano Susan Gritton. And the results, indeed, are breathtaking. This truly is one of the most heartstoppingly beautiful, and vivid, recordings of Poulenc, of choral music, and of Susan Gritton's ineffably suave voice. Essential.
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