‘Far and away the finest [performance] it has received … in a sense, Hyperion's release is a perfect one, of a great event, a magisterial work and an encapsulation of the enormous difficulties of the project as a whole … aided by Hyperion's sensational sound, details which barely registered before sound crystal clear’ (Gramophone)

‘This recording is the best yet … the recorded sound succeeds phenomenally … superb orchestral playing right across the board. All four soloists excel at seizing the moment in their few, but spectacular opportunities … memorable listening indeed’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘This recording comes from the work's first, thrilling and bizarre BBC Proms performance in July … the enormous, almost mystical sound of the chorus, the intriguing vocal colours, wacky instrumentation and sheer vastness of the enterprise give it an odd cult appeal: truly epic’ (The Observer)

‘A final track of applause lasting nearly nine minutes isn't excessive … it remains one of the oddities of the English symphonic repertoire, but Martyn Brabbins and his legions of players and singers do it proud’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘This release looks set to be the primary recommendation well into the future: conveying the fullest extent yet of a flawed masterpiece that risks so much in staking out the listener's awareness of its greatness’ (International Record Review)

‘For all the RAH’s lively reverberation this recording of The Gothic is very good indeed—the best yet—and captures a sensational amount of detail in a performance that resets the clock. Hyperion have done us proud … I’d be unsurprised if this turns out, in the long view, to be the most important classical release of 2011. Critics of this symphony have spent years trashing the work as undisciplined, gaudy, or just plain mad, but now anyone with a stereo has access to a grippingly powerful argument for the Gothic’s place in the classical canon’ (MusicWeb International)