‘Wonderfully effective choral writing across four centuries, beautifully blended sound, the recordings as sonorous and radiant as the singing as they explore different shades of light in choral music from the golden glow of a summer evening to shimmering moonlight on calm waters … another outstanding concept album from The Gesualdo Six’ (BBC Record Review)
‘The Gesualdo Six, British male singers of ineffable vocal beauty, make such beguiling sounds on their own that any instrumentalist risks becoming an unwanted interloper—even, as in this case, the spirited trumpeter Matilda Lloyd. She’s featured in just over half the tracks of this mostly contemporary programme, and in two of them—Judith Bingham’s Enter Ghost and James MacMillan’s In splendoribus sanctorum—the trumpet flourishes are genuinely thrilling … the good things easily dominate in an anthology committed to exploring ‘different shades of light’, from summer sunshine to the 'radiant dawn' of Christ’s birth, celebrated in another vocal wonder by MacMillan. Given the jumping between centuries, the mix of music old and new works very well, eased on its way by the unchanging artistry of the Six themselves: two countertenors, two tenors, one baritone and one bass, who sing with such commitment, polish and verve’ (The Times)
‘A wonderful addition to what is already one of the finest discographies of choral music to have appeared in the last ten years. Its theme is different shades of light in music, from the emergence pf the radiant dawn of the album’s title, to the ghostly terrors of a bitter and dark night on the battlements at Elsinore. Musically, there are two noticeable binding threads: plainchant, either as integral part of a composition or as an inspiration, and the superb trumpet playing of Matilda Lloyd, who joins the singers in many of the works. There are two new pieces especially written for the album and they sit extremely well with the other carefully chosen selections … [Burgon's Nunc dimittis] is the best way imaginable to bring this fantastic recital, excellently recorded in All Hallows Gospel Oak, to a close’ (MusicWeb International)
