‘[Nicky Spence] sings with sensitivity and intelligence, projects the words with consistent clarity and covers this wonderful cycle’s broad emotional range movingly and convincingly … the couplings are hardly less fine … Drake offers vividly etched playing once more (listen to his way with the cimbalom-like strums and melismas that accompany the vocal line in ‘Rosemary’), while Voice join in for a rip-roaring account of the final song, ‘Musicians’. It’s a fitting conclusion to an album that offers much to celebrate: a superb achievement by Spence and Drake, in particular, and as persuasive an introduction to Janáček’s songs as you’ll find. Excellent engineering and presentation from Hyperion crown an outstanding release—highly recommended’ (Gramophone)

‘The Leonores sound like they’ve lived with and loved these pieces for years: they surf the ebb and flow of Parry’s surging, often tempestuous lyricism with the same grace and style that they bring to the radiant sunset codas that close the first movements of each work … even had there been a century-long tradition of recording Parry’s chamber music, I suspect this would still shoot straight to the top of the heap’ (Gramophone)

‘The hoped-for second volume from Leonore PT of Charles Hubert Hastings Parry’s chamber music has arrived! And it’s every bit as good and rewarding as the first … a job exceptionally well done—hats off to Sir Hubert Parry, Leonore members and their guest viola-player, and of course Hyperion—and not forgetting sound-engineer Arne Akselberg, whose demonstration-quality recording invites the listener to be the fourth or fifth member of the ensemble’ (Classical Source)» More

‘Set down hard on the heels of an acclaimed concert performance in Glasgow during May 2018, Thomas Dausgaard’s new recording of Kullervo has lots in its favour. Not the least of its many virtues is the enthusiastic, scrupulously prepared and rhythmically spry contribution of the BBC Scottish SO (a shout-out to their crisply articulate strings and irresistibly ‘vocal’ woodwinds in particular). Plaudits, too, for Dausgaard’s purposeful, keen-eared direction, some shrewdly chosen tempos ensuring that Sibelius’s daringly ambitious scheme unfolds with impressive cumulative power; certainly, his lithe, red-blooded handling of the remarkable central scena (‘Kullervo and his sister’) plunges the listener into the thick of the action—an impression reinforced by the comparatively upfront balance afforded to soloists Helena Juntunen and Benjamin Appl (both of whom cover themselves in glory) … all told, a hearty welcome to this fresh-faced newcomer’ (Gramophone)

‘Possibly the biggest takeaway of this release, however, is the superb artistry of Simon Callaghan. Already represented by two discs in Hyperion’s Romantic Piano Concerto series, it is a pleasure to encounter his solo work. Clearly a musician of curiosity and discernment, Callaghan’s robust piano-playing is also thoughtful, subtle and refined. It look forward to hearing whatever he does next’ (Gramophone)

‘What Dausgaard gets—quite brilliantly—is that a lot of this music is really dramatic … you get this wonderful sense of almost theatrical music and I think that’s really important … [Benjamin Appl] is fabulous’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Taking the bait, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, big as always on brass and percussion, respond to any detail and every intention. Dausgaard brings plenty to the table. The rhythmic bite and string articulation (nourished despite being no more than 14.12.10.8.6) generates febrile electricity and tautness from the onset, the tutti climaxes attacked powerfully, the voicing of sound-print chords and solos keenly judged … come the end, gripped by the sensualism, swagger and sorrow of it all, the Loki fire, you feel as though you've been on an epic symphonic voyage, that here, youth regardless, lies truly some of the most imaginative, inventively original, raw music of an era, Strauss and Mahler notwithstanding’ (Classical Source)» More

‘Linus Roth proves a thoughtful soloist. His sweet tone and artful feel for the [Lassen]’s phrasal uplift is best encountered in the slow movement, the whole cantilena of which sounds to me like a song arrangement, though the arabesques, with an underlying waltz rhythm, prove especially ear catching … the notes to this issue are by MWI contributor Philip Borg-Wheeler and very readable and informative they are too. The BBC Scottish Symphony under Antony Hermus, who has made something of a specialty of the romantic literature, plays with great sympathy and sense of colour … this disc offers an out-of-the-way sidelight on the repertoire’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Hyperion have given us a very fine version of Kullervo. Engineer Simon Eadon and producer Andrew Keener have presented the performance in excellent sound … you won’t go far wrong with this performance of Sibelius’s early symphony.’ (MusicWeb International)

‘This celebration of Herbert Howells (1892-1983) forms Stephen Cleobury’s final recordings from King’s College Cambridge where he has been director of music for thirty-seven years. Of particular interest are the rarely performed An English Mass and the Cello Concerto, although both are previously recorded … the rhapsodic first movement [of the Concerto] is given due respect to its spacious arch-like design and the central ‘Threnody’ is sculpted with warm expressivity, its elegiac ruminations fully explored. If this dark-hued lament reaches into the core of the composer’s heartache, then the colourful Finale with its Walton-like vigour is no-less tinged with melancholic lyricism … the recorded sound is excellent’ (Classical Source)» More

‘Throughout this recording, The Elysian Singers under Sam Laughton are excellent, rising to every challenge that James MacMillan poses and coming out shining. They set a very high standard in their earlier recording of his music, but here they surpass it. The acoustic is very good indeed and this helps the Elysian’s perfect diction come through clear and bright, while the beautiful sound of Alexandra Caldon’s violin is perfectly balanced so that it does not detract from the vocal line and is never itself overpowered. The brief introductions to the music in the booklet are very good; full texts are given in English and, where applicable, Latin. This is a very fine disc and a must for any follower of the music of James MacMillan’ (MusicWeb International)

‘I admired the Leonore Trio’s first Parry CD very much and this follow-up release is just as good. In saying that I’m referring both to the interest, accomplishment and value in the music itself and also to the excellent performances. Parry’s music could not be in better hands. The recordings themselves come from the same source as the first disc and the sound quality is excellent. As ever, Jeremy Dibble’s notes provide a thorough and reliable introduction to the music’ (MusicWeb International)» More