Like dogs, Messiahs are for life, not just for Christmas. But they come into their own around December 25. And easily the best I heard over the holidays was given by Polyphony as part of the St John’s, Smith Square season of all things choral.
On the circuit now for 30 years, Polyphony ranks in the forefront of the best professional choirs in Britain, largely drawn from former Oxbridge choral scholars, and outstanding for its combination of assertive power with keenly shaped and sculpted eloquence. The discipline is absolute: you never hear wrong entries or uncertain intonation. But the sound is warm, the sentiments are real – the polar opposite of an ensemble like the BBC Singers who produce a clinical perfection good for radio but sterile when you hear them in the flesh.
