“… Sophie Yates is, as ever, excellent throughout and makes a very strong case for these neglected pieces from the Fitzwilliam Collection. Her touch is wonderful and the way she adapts it to suit the differing aspects of each of the different styles presented here is magnificent. Yates also provides the introductory note to the disc as well as the brief notes on each of the pieces. Add to this the notes by Huw Saunders on the beautiful Boni Harpsichord, which itself is a part of the Fitzwilliam Collection and sounds as good as it looks, and the usual Chandos sound quality, and this disc is a real winner.”

“… From start to finish Guy Braunstein excels, a sterling advocate for Tchaikovsky’s glorious works for violin and orchestra.”

“Committed and affectionate performances of a range of Reich’s works directed and played by one of today’s more important European advocates for his music.”

“… an exemplary Howells disc with what will now be the standards for the Piano Quartet and In Gloucestershire.”

“… Howard Griffiths directs assured and vibrant performances. This is one of those CDs which give pleasure from beginning to end. It aroused my curiosity enough to make me want to explore Holbrooke’s compositions further.”

Recommended

“… A quite splendid conclusion to Lan Shui’s Debussy project; the sonics are a treat, too. “

Recommended

“You do not have to be either a royalist or a British subject to recognise that there is some great music here and some magnificent performances to boot.”

“For modern-instrument Mozart, I’m likely to prefer this in future even to my previous favourites.”

“…this is a very fine recital disc in terms of both repertoire, performance, and documentation – very clear texts and translations, and helpful notes – with well-balanced sound…”

 “… this performance does ample justice to this impressive composition, and Telemann lovers should not miss this important addition to the discography.”

“…Throughout this recording, The Elysian Singers under Sam Laughton are excellent, rising to every challenge that James MacMillan poses and coming out shining. They set a very high standard in their earlier recording of his music, but here they surpass it. The acoustic is very good indeed and this helps the Elysian’s perfect diction come through clear and bright, while the beautiful sound of Alexandra Caldon’s violin is perfectly balanced so that it does not detract from the vocal line and is never itself overpowered. The brief introductions to the music in the booklet are very good; full texts are given in English and, where applicable, Latin. This is a very fine disc and a must for any follower of the music of James MacMillan.”

“… Not a neglected masterpiece, perhaps, but well worth hearing nonetheless; also, the inspired playing and singing are superbly rendered.”

Recommended

“…When it comes to large-scale choral music, Das Weltgericht is for me the find of the year…”

“…The expressive aspects of Telemann's concertos mostly come off rather well in these performances...All in all, there is every reason to be happy with this project which - just as the series with wind concertos - shows that Telemann was indeed a creative genius…”

“Wallfisch and her band bring out most effectively the character of each movement without ever appearing to be straining to make an effect; the interpretations are entirely natural and full of vitality. We're continually aware of being in the presence of a remarkably clever, imaginative composer.”

Performance ****      Recording ****

“…  Allen, who turned 74 in September, remains an irresistibly attractive, superb communicator…[He] is deftly accompanied by Stephen Higgins, who savours the music’s sweetness without over-egging the pudding…Clearly, Allen and his pianist Stephen Higgins are thoroughly enjoying themselves, Allen’s voice still sounding gloriously burnished…”