Performance ***      Recording ****

“…There is fine solo work from tenor Mark Dobell in ‘Invictus’, setting a poem by William Ernest Henley… Kirsty Hopkins brings her fresh soprano to ‘The Song of Mary Magdalene’ … The choral singing is committed if occasionally scrappy, and the small chamber band accompanies neatly.”

“…The programming is thought-provoking, once again pitting Haydn, the earthy intellectual, against his younger contemporary, the sophisticated and well-travelled savant… Christophers once again demonstrates that his 203-yer-old band are in rude health.”

Performance ***        Recording ***

“… he [Christophers] keeps the delightful score bouncing merrily along; the instrumentalists supply expert playing… Grace Davidson’s Galetea offers a small but pretty soprano and Jeremy Budd’s Acis is crisply articulated and emotionally engaged, while Stuart Young enjoys the comic-grotesque possibilities of the giant Polyphemus …”

“…It is the well-balanced madrigalian choruses and ensembles that come off best…The politeness of the opening chorus is a feature of music of the solo singing…As is not uncommon in Acis, honours here are stolen by the splendidly virile but not entirely unsympathetic Polyphemus of Stuart Young, while the pure cantabile lines of Grace Davidsons’s sweetly vulnerable Galatea also give much pleasure.”

“… With flexible forces expanding from just four voices up to a nearly 40-strong instrumental and choral ensemble, I Fagiolini are at their most malleable and multifaceted here in a luxury project that can’t have come cheap. Colour images of all the paintings are lovingly reproduced in the booklet, giving the listener as much of the full experience as possible.”

“Hollingworth and his singers remain a superb ensemble, outstanding in their range and versatility.” ****

“… The colours Reilly managed to produce, the technical barriers he overcame and the unrivalled musicality he evinced on the instrument are stunningly audible throughout this disc… There is, in short, a huge amount here to entertain the keen listener. Reilly’s commercial discography is saluted but the archive is successfully mined for off-air material that summon up a time, a place and an era. Reilly was the wizard at the centre of it all, a supreme colourist …”

“… The Tinker’s Wedding Overture (1948) is a celebratory comedy overture redolent of the Edwardian era. Being Brian, however, the music has its quirks: it is craggily episodic, and he writes for tuba as though it were a flute. Symphony No 7 from the same year continues the Elgarian pomp with trumpet fanfares but soon veers into Brian’s unsettled stylistic deconstruction. Again, the orchestration offers unexpected challenges, especially its ever-busy bass lines and use of percussion, including xylophone. The single-movement Symphony No 16 (1960) is alternately mysterious and aggressive, harmonically astringent, and completely isolated from British music of the time. Alexander Walker and the orchestra have recorded several of his symphonies and are comfortable with his idiom. Walker knows how to balance the sometimes incongruous elements, as the musicians manage the climactic outbursts while retaining a light touch…”   ****½

“…Oramo opens with the early Lemminkäinen Suite … He coaxes colour and detail from the orchestra in these performances, right from the opening horns that plunge us into the heart of Finnish mythology…. The luminous colours Oramo produces in the Lemminkäinen Suite are rendered even more vividly here [Belshazzar’s Feast suite], particularly in the percussive Exoticism of the ‘Oriental’ march that opens the suite. Subtle renditions of the tranquil central movements, Solitude and Nocturne, come up best, however – hear Michael Cox’s gorgeous flute solo in the Nocturne. Between the larger works, Spring Song (written during Lemminkäinen) makes for a fine palate cleanser.”   ****½

“… Like Shostakovich, Matthews decided against a monumental Ninth. Written in five movements, the work is based on a carol that he composed for his wife. It has dramatic moments, but is generally light in intensity… Matthews is a genuine symphonist and squeezes every drop of developmental interest out of his theme… Matthews’ English roots are clear in this lovely work [Variations] … The Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Strings is another attractive work in the same vein, where string soloists Trickey and Bradley show genuine rapport. Performances and sound quality are first rate.” *****

“… The playing throughout this disc is exemplary. I like Gardner’s choice of slightly faster tempos as it gives a real sense of drive and momentum throughout. The CBSO is on wonderful form, with Gardner bringing out the very best from the orchestra. The recorded sound on the hybrid SACD is up to Chandos’ usual high standard … the booklet notes are excellent … So, an excellent disc of Mendelssohn’s overtures, to which I will often return.”

“However valuable John Wilson’s back catalogue, this August 30 Chandos issue might just prove to be his most substantial recording achievement to date… “ *****

“…It’s altogether a fine collection of unfamiliar music.” ****

“…Superb, then: this is an ideal Howells starter pack, beautifully packaged and produced.”

“… Susanna Mälkki’s quick-witted Helsinki Philharmonic performance is outstanding, and sumptuously engineered to boot.”

“… Henning Lucius dispatches Loewe’s filigree passagework with ideal lightness, while Lena Eckels, newly appointed viola professor at the Lübeck Music Academy, gives Loewe’s Hispanic impersonations a delightful lilt.”