“This rousing, back-stiffening and celebratory recital features appropriately effusive and reflective pieces delivered with contrasting glee and gravitas… Kitchen’s impeccable playing – a virtuoso display of pomp and circumstance – is perfectly framed by characteristically vivid Delphian sound.” *****
“This rousing, back-stiffening and celebratory recital features appropriately effusive and reflective pieces delivered with contrasting glee and gravitas… Kitchen’s impeccable playing – a virtuoso display of pomp and circumstance – is perfectly framed by characteristically vivid Delphian sound.” *****
Choir and Organ magazine - August 2016
Recording of the Month
“…Technically brilliant and musically passionate and zestful”
Recording of the Month
“…Technically brilliant and musically passionate and zestful”
MusicWeb-International.com – November 2017
“…Given that the writing is not overtly flashy, Cicic’s easy, fluid perfection through their webs of double-stopped complexities merits mentioning…add tonal colour spanning the gamut from satisfyingly wiry to full and sweet, and it’s a full house of deliciousness, all of which is bolstered further by the varied palette of continuo colour on display from Cicic’s Illyria Consort colleagues…really, bravo to the whole”
“…Given that the writing is not overtly flashy, Cicic’s easy, fluid perfection through their webs of double-stopped complexities merits mentioning…add tonal colour spanning the gamut from satisfyingly wiry to full and sweet, and it’s a full house of deliciousness, all of which is bolstered further by the varied palette of continuo colour on display from Cicic’s Illyria Consort colleagues…really, bravo to the whole”
Gramophone magazine – August 2017
“… Although the Illyria Consort...are crisp and dynamic, this sparkling recording is a showcase for Croatian violinist Bojan Cicic...whose championing of Carbonelli is the real story here.”
“… Although the Illyria Consort...are crisp and dynamic, this sparkling recording is a showcase for Croatian violinist Bojan Cicic...whose championing of Carbonelli is the real story here.”
The Herald (Scotland) – 30 June 2017
“… [Carbonelli's] music is stately, taut and elegant in the hands of Bojan Cicic (a UK-based Croatian violinist) and his excellent Illyria Consort. They sound effortlessly stylish in these six chamber sonatas – Cicic makes even the high-wire showy stuff sing with a lyricism that is shapely, aerated and totally unforced …” ****
“… [Carbonelli's] music is stately, taut and elegant in the hands of Bojan Cicic (a UK-based Croatian violinist) and his excellent Illyria Consort. They sound effortlessly stylish in these six chamber sonatas – Cicic makes even the high-wire showy stuff sing with a lyricism that is shapely, aerated and totally unforced …” ****
The Guardian – 8 June 2017
Winner 2017
Winner 2017
Presto Recordings of the Year
“These performances are eloquent, engaging and really nicely ornamented. It’s one of my favourite discoveries this week.”
“These performances are eloquent, engaging and really nicely ornamented. It’s one of my favourite discoveries this week.”
BBC Radio 3 Record Review – June 2017
"...You are left in no doubt of the agony of the crucifixion in the vocal and horn climax of the opening chorus of Stabat Mater... intense and riveting."
"...You are left in no doubt of the agony of the crucifixion in the vocal and horn climax of the opening chorus of Stabat Mater... intense and riveting."
The Times – 4 December 2016
Editor’s Choice
“… An inspired and moving major work... by turns eerie, poignant and powerful.”
Editor’s Choice
“… An inspired and moving major work... by turns eerie, poignant and powerful.”
Classical Music magazine – August 2016
“… An enlightening and enriching release, which is also excellent in terms of recording and presentation.” *****
“… An enlightening and enriching release, which is also excellent in terms of recording and presentation.” *****
ClassicalSource.com - October 2016
Finalist 2018
Finalist 2018
Presto Recordings of the Year
“There are some exquisite things here … Reich himself describes this as one of [Electric Counterpoint’s] greatest recordings. He’s right; and production-wise it’s near-perfect, with every strand clear. If you’re sufficiently antediluvian to still possess an amplifier and speakers, crank them up and encourage your neighbours to go out. This disc works on so many levels. Shibe’s playing is predictably excellent, and it’s fun to hear him electrified …”
“There are some exquisite things here … Reich himself describes this as one of [Electric Counterpoint’s] greatest recordings. He’s right; and production-wise it’s near-perfect, with every strand clear. If you’re sufficiently antediluvian to still possess an amplifier and speakers, crank them up and encourage your neighbours to go out. This disc works on so many levels. Shibe’s playing is predictably excellent, and it’s fun to hear him electrified …”
The Arts Desk.com
“The magic of this new-comer is in the combination of ancient and modern, old and new, acoustic and amplified sounds … Steve Reich seems to love this new recording of his piece and it’s easy to hear why: the sound, quality and clarity of the mix is excellent.” Andrew McGregor
“The magic of this new-comer is in the combination of ancient and modern, old and new, acoustic and amplified sounds … Steve Reich seems to love this new recording of his piece and it’s easy to hear why: the sound, quality and clarity of the mix is excellent.” Andrew McGregor
BBC Radio 3 Record Review
"...Sean Shibe is one of those bright young virtuosi who see programming as an act of creative challenge and responsibility rather than dull routine … arrangements of music from four early Scottish lute manuscripts are played with gorgeous sensitivity by Shibe [but] they are merely the start of an absorbing aural journey that treads gently into the 20th and 21st centuries” *****
"...Sean Shibe is one of those bright young virtuosi who see programming as an act of creative challenge and responsibility rather than dull routine … arrangements of music from four early Scottish lute manuscripts are played with gorgeous sensitivity by Shibe [but] they are merely the start of an absorbing aural journey that treads gently into the 20th and 21st centuries” *****
The Scotsman
“I suspect his beautifully touched-in accounts of pieces from 17th-century Scottish manuscripts will get more living-room plays than Julia Wolfe’s LAD, an abrasive electric-guitar scream originally conceived for nine bagpipes. In between, he also supplies a definitive performance of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint.”
“I suspect his beautifully touched-in accounts of pieces from 17th-century Scottish manuscripts will get more living-room plays than Julia Wolfe’s LAD, an abrasive electric-guitar scream originally conceived for nine bagpipes. In between, he also supplies a definitive performance of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint.”
The Guardian - 20 September 2018
Nominee Solo Vocal Category
Nominee Solo Vocal Category
Gramophone Music Awards 2014