‘With the centenary of Gabriel Fauré’s death approaching (in 2024), this quietly radical French genius is gaining some much-deserved attention beyond his few best-known works. Hamelin’s traversal of his nocturnes and barcarolles, 13 of each, delves deep into their extraordinary mix of sensual beauty and sophisticated reinvention of harmonic language’ (The Sunday Times)

‘This album of Debussy’s Études is full of superlatives. Marvel at the meltingly even thirds in ‘Pour les tierces’, the delicious range of articulation, and the almost Rachmaninov-like outpouring at the end. Linger in the timeless mood of ‘Pour les Quartes’, all cool fourths, and the way in which Osborne oscillates between flurries and stillness. Or admire the muscular playing in the outbursts of ‘Pour les Octaves’ … the list could go on. Technique and artistry are perfectly allied—and the beautiful recorded sound has a lovely balance of clarity, space and resonance’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Chant performances on recordings tend to be somewhat perfunctory and dull, but here each item is performed with marvellous attention to both phrasing, style and message … the singers are at their brilliant best in pieces that demand gentle, embracing harmonic blending—for example in Johannes Eccard’s Maria wallt zum Heiligtum, in Howells’s Here is the little door, and in Mirabile mysterium where the Slovenian composer Handl serves up exotic shifts of chromatic colouring … there are many engrossing and lovely musical experiences here’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

«Tout chante (même dans ces tempos larges dont, à l’instar de Scott Ross, il posséde l’alchimie, ce legato soi-disant interdit par l’instrument à cordes pincées), tout danse, l’air entre à foison, je respire et je savoure l’art de ce petit génie du clavecin qui ajoute trois Suites qu’il désigne joliment comme orphelines» (Artamag, France)

‘In terms of gleaming vocal purity, The Gesualdo Six, directed by Owain Park, are hard to beat. Their Morning star takes its title from Arvo Pärt but combines chant and early works (by Lassus, Byrd, Clemens non Papa) with new works by Joanna Marsh, Judith Bingham and Adrian Peacock. Park’s own O send out thy light is lyrical and radiant. Not so new but still beautiful, Herbert Howells’s Here is the little door stands out. The dominant mood is quietude, contemplation’ (The Guardian)

‘All credit to Esfahani for this carefully prepared recording. While no amount of scholarly underpinning will save poor performing, there is much to enjoy in playing that displays poise and expressive nuance as well as virtuosity’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Wherever you turn in this double album, it’s clear that Hewitt has approached this second volume of Mozart piano sonatas, part of a complete set, with her customary meticulous style … an excellent recital that yields rewards on every listen’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Hamelin’s truly astonishing virtuosity here is transmuted into remarkable variations of colour throughout, with the Nocturnes providing him with plenty of opportunities to colour these works with both light and shade—the Nocturne No 2, for instance, flips between powerful, rushing, Chopin-esque passages full of dramatic harmonic shifts, and delicate flutters of dappled sunlight chords … superb … a terrific release, and one that’s well worth picking up’ (Limelight, Australia)» More

‘Having heard his Debussy on disc and in concert before, I was really looking forward to this … I was absolutely blown away; it sounds like he’s born only to play Debussy. It’s just perfection on every level … there is nothing missing; every single note is chosen and perfect and I was in heaven listening to this disc … under Steven Osborne’s fingers [the Études] never sound like technical exercises, there’s just so much colour and imagination and uniquely Debussyan timbres … you’re just not aware of the recording, it’s that good … here we have an elite pianist who is making it sound like it flows off his fingertips, effortlessly’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Steven Osborne’s recording brings to an end his Debussy cycle for Hyperion, and rarely have mastery and sensitivity been so meticulously and awe-inspiringly combined … here is a pianist who shines a searchlight on Debussy’s inner secrets, yet is no less adept at retreating into a hazy and distant sense of vision, his essentially modern view of Debussy remote from Gieseking’s legendary and opalescent if far less precise recording … Osborne’s entirely personal and committed way with the Études is underlined by a sense of overwhelming bleakness that makes even outstanding alternative recordings by Pollini, Uchida and Aimard have less impact’ (International Piano)» More

«William Byrd et sa Mass for five voices concentrent la dernière fournée des Gesualdo Six. La formation chambriste masculine d’Owain Park donne à l’oeuvre un aspect discret, intime, sans doute en adéquation avec le caractère secret qu’elle revêtait—l’époque était très hostile au catholicisme dont cette messe et son auteur se réclament. Dans les motets glissés en complément, les entrelacs harmoniques de l’Ave verum et l’expressivité stupéfiante du Circumdederunt qui captent l’attention, offrant un visage plus complexe de Byrd, à l’image de leur écriture contrapuntique» (Diapason, France)

‘The performances are formidably assured … Matej Kastelic (b1994), achieves a lot in five minutes with Credo/I believe’ (Gramophone)