THE CHOIR OF ST. THOMAS CHURCH

Press Notices

CONCERT REVIEWS:

July 2007 “The choir came with a prodigious reputation in the United States Anglican choral tradition, and it was immediately apparent why. The opening Libera Nos by John Sheppard was utterly ravishing and with part-singing of the highest quality, the balance and clarity of flow in Robert Parsons’s “Ave Maria” incredibly seductive.”

The York Press

March 2007 “Under the direction of John Scott, the choir sang with stunning musical and intonational accuracy, superb diction, and a lovely blend.”

St. Louis Today

Bach St. John Passion, 2006 “… a searing impact because of the integrity and beauty of the performance … The St. Thomas Choir … was remarkable.  The well-trained boys from the choir school dispatched Bach’s ornate and wayward vocal lines with utter confidence and radiantly pure sound. There was no sense of an interpretive agenda in Mr. Scott’s conducting.  Everything was direct, expressive and clear.”

The New York Times

December 2005 “St. Thomas Church … with the St. Thomas Choir School in play, offer possibly the best alternative on this side of the Atlantic to the British tradition of young male voices in treble parts. They are well chosen and well trained and, joined by the adult countertenors, tenors and basses, produce a handsome spectacle for the ear.”

The New York Times

(St. John Passion) “It proved a marvel of true, pliant, rich tone and crisp and flexible rhythms. It followed Mr. Scott’s detailed … phrasing and articulation as one. The chorales were rendered meltingly.”

The New York Times

“St. Thomas’s annual presentation … has in recent years come to be the “Messiah” to hear … It has a rightness to it that … eludes most concert readings.”

The New York Times

“… the most satisfying of the live performances (Handel’s ‘Messiah’) came, as usual in recent years, from St. Thomas Church.”

The New Yorker

“...The St. Thomas Choir of men and boys was superb.”

Newhouse Newspapers

“An American choir bringing the English cathedral repertory to this country must feel like an English singer taking Wagner to Bayreuth. However the Saint Thomas Choir, from New York City can brave competition with the best.”

The London Times

“These 30 Choristers sang most beautifully.”

The London Daily Telegraph

“… seraphic boys of St. Thomas Choir, provided a moment of hushed beauty.”

The Star Ledger

“Dividing into two equal choirs, they launched into Bach's motet, ‘Komm, Jesu, komm’. In what could fairly be described as an un-Bachian building, the sound was exquisite. The balance was ideal, there was just the right degree of resonance in the large sanctuary …”

The American Organist

“This (performance) proved to be to the utter delight of all and the astonishment of not a few, who perhaps felt that choirs like this only exist at King’s (King’s College) and John’s (St. John’s College) ... this choir’s greatness was borne in upon us. A really inspiring and spiritually refreshing event.” The Year Book (1987-88)

The Royal College of Organists

“FESTIVAL CHOIR EXCELS”

The Irish Independent (Dublin)

“... splendidly vital singing of the highest standard ... sheer intensity and musicality.”

The American Organist

“VIRILE VOICES WORK MIGHTY CHORAL MAGIC”

Richmond News Leader

RECORDING REVIEWS:

American Voices (2009)

“The standard of performance by singers and instrumentalists is exceptional; indeed, I cannot recall a choral recording which has given me greater pleasure both on first and subsequent hearings. Be adventurous; buy it!”

Richard Popple, Organists’ Review (May 2010)

Christmas on Fifth Avenue (Pro Organo 7200)

“The choir of New York’s St. Thomas Church [is] America’s finest exponent of the Anglican choral tradition. St. Thomas has seen to the continuing supremacy of their music program by importing John Scott from England to run it. His distinguished pedigree includes 26 years at St. Paul’s in London. Few on the planet can equal his skill in training boys’ voices and molding their collective sonority. And it shows, in the very best sound and execution you’re likely to hear from an American boychoir.”

American Record Guide (Nov/Dec 2006)

Praise the Lord (Argo)

“This is beautiful singing, the performances well-turned and affectionate, and good, clear recorded sound.”

Church Music

“The richness and fullness of the boys’ tone, matched by the fine men’s sonority, with its clear, very English diction, will be admired and even envied ...”

Organists’ Review

“A record full of exciting music performed with artistry and wholehearted conviction.”

The Musical Times

Britten Choral and Organ Works (Koch International Classics) “an authentic English sound, replete with tasteful musicianship and zest. The men are solid, the boys typically ethereal.”

American Record Guide

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (Priory) “… performance lives up to the on-going standard on Fifth Avenue. The singing in the Susa and Schuller scores is as rhythmically precise and electric as it is mystically powerful in the Friedell and Wright … a real hour of refreshment.”

The American Organist

Great Cathedral Anthems (Priory) “… the choir of St. Thomas’s in New York prove themselves to be one of the best cathedral choirs on either side of the Atlantic …”

Gramophone