“… Superbly recorded and played, as you would expect from Chandos, there is little to criticise here … Sir Andrew Davis, with his BBC forces and tenor Andrew Staples, offers an insight into Elgar, the man and his music, at that moment in history when so much changed forever.”

“… The BBC Symphony and Chorus cover themselves in glory in this hard to pull off music [The Spirit of England]… Mezzo Dame Sarah Connolly, the BBC forces and Sir Andrew Davis are equally superb.”  ****

“… this persuasive new reading with Dame Sarah Connolly in warm and encompassing surround sound more than justifies its place in the collection of any Elgarian …”

Performance ****      Recording ****

“… the performances of these two relatively minor choral works are quite excellent, Sir Andrew Davis and his forces, especially Sarah Connolly and Andrew Staples … give their all and one can’t imagine their being performed more nobly, to use Elgar’s favourite term..”

“The Music Makers, tellingly interwoven with allusions to the Variations, Violin Concerto and Symphony No 2, is Elgar at his most personal… the First World War-inspired Spirit of England seems to me to transcend Laurence Binyon’s verse. Davis clearly believes in it and rouses his forces to splendid effect.”

“…Sir Andrew Davis conducts Music Makers very well indeed. It’s not an easy score to bring off but he presents it as a fine and coherent work. O’Shaughnessy’s verses are of their time, shall we say, but Elgar works a kind of musical alchemy on them and the result is a strongly personal and very rewarding work. It’s magnificently performed here and, with opulent Chandos sound presenting the music-making in the best possible light, I think I would say that, as with The Spirit of England, this now becomes the prime recommendation for this important Elgar score.”

“… Sir Andrew Davis proves the ideal interpreter of these two somewhat neglected works…”

Editor’s Choice – Vocal Section

“… this meaty choral pairing has already given me a lot of pleasure and earns the warmest plaudits.”

***** (Exceptional Disc)

“… This is a stimulating and satisfying release.” *****