‘The works for double choir have a compelling sonority, especially when delivered by soloists of this quality, but those for just four or five voices are affecting and full of distinctive touches, more personal in affect than the grandeur and solemnity of the Mass. Among the double-choir pieces I especially enjoyed the opening track, Benedictus Dominus, while the seven-voice Fracta diuturnis has some lovely responses to the text; and among the more lightly scored works, Ad te levavi stands out for sheer loveliness. There is much to praise in these poised, polished performances, hieratic in the Mass and more intimate where the music permits it (the beginning of the ‘Qui tollis’ is lovely in a way that recalls Lassus). Speaking of Daser’s successor, this seems to me to be Cinquecento’s finest disc (in terms of both programming and performance) since the one they devoted to Lassus’ (Gramophone)

«Quelle splendeur que ce Nocturne no 1 (ca 1875) sous les doigts de Marc-André Hamelin ! Dès le commencement de ce voyage à travers les deux grands cycles pour piano de Fauré, dont la composition s’étale sur presque toute sa vie créatrice, le musicien canadien déploie un art immense. Et quand la passion affleure dans cette page encore empreinte d’un certain romantisme, il se fait le plus vibrant des conteurs … partout, le plus éclectique des grands pianistes de notre temps met la barre très haut : le miracle de cette interprétation majeure, magnifiée par une prise de son grisante, est bien de donner envie d’entendre encore et toujours ces bijoux de fraîcheur et de mystère, d’élégance extrême et de profondeur» (Diapason, France)

‘This is playing of daredevil spontaneity, backed up by intense scholarly discipline’ (Prospect)» More

‘I'm in Choral Heaven with a Tudor master’ (The Times)

‘The sound [of the clavichord] is so seductive; the delicacy, the gentle chirpiness, the almost reedy timbre at times, and the way the notes sometimes bend under the finger pressure. And then there’s Esfahani’s fragrant ornamentation and embellishment, so beautifully integrated with Bach’s lines, the feeling that the music is coming fresh from his and Bach’s imagination—so intimate—before what Mahan calls the ‘rich snarl’ of his modern hybrid harpsichord in some of the suites. The whole album seems as though it’s been designed to question our assumptions and prejudices in the most enlightening way’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Superbly polished, crystalline perfection—aren't we lucky that the singing is as magical as the music—perfect ensemble, impeccable tuning and a recording that allows everything to gleam and glitter—it's hard to believe the ensemble has been with us for half a century now, the sound is still so fresh and bright and new’ (BBC Record Review)

‘This repertoire certainly reflects conductor Maris Sirmais’s faith in the State Choir Latvija for none of it is less than a challenging sing. The Latvians are ravishing in Strauss’s formidable Deutsche Motette, which is essentially a concerto for choir, the composer treating the ensemble in the same way as a vast orchestra … impressively vibrant choral sound and emotional ebb and flow ensure this recording encourages repeated listening’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘The two sets of Nocturnes and Barcarolles give us a resumé of Fauré’s compositional progress, from charming, tune-oriented pieces to the later ones driven, according to recent analysts, by ‘harmonic distortion’. Certainly, melody increasingly takes a back seat, in favour of what sometimes sound like abstruse mathematical games of Fauré’s own invention. But it is particularly in these that Hamelin’s superb technique and no doubt many hours of careful thought pay dividends, magisterially impressing on us the power and beauty of this music, which traces a path that no composer after Fauré chose, or perhaps dared, to tread’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘A deeply satisfying mixture of the familiar and under-represented modern masterpieces … the final track, David Bednall’s Siegfried Sassoon setting Everyone sang, sums up the essence of this album: ecstatic dynamic singing with sensitive, orchestrally coloured accompaniments and an unerring sense of architectural balance, aided by David Hinitt’s superb engineering, which allows every detail of Ely’s cavernous acoustic to be heard. I cannot wait to hear Vol 2’ (Gramophone)

‘To whichever composer Marc-André Hamelin turns his (amazing) hand(s), he reinvents himself, chameleon-like, to convince you that he is the authoritative voice of that composer … hearing Hamelin play Fauré is like observing the workings of a luxury-brand wristwatch with its many interdependent and intricately connected parts working in perfect harmony to produce the movement you see on the clockface. I don’t mean by that analogy that Hamelin is all unruffled perfection and too cool by half … for there are many passages in which he displays deep and heartfelt passion (try Nocturne No 12 or Barcarolle No 5). And listen to his voicing of the stormy central (allegro) section of Nocturne No 5, where he somehow manages to make both hands equally significant while allowing the (leading) bass melody just that bit of extra significance. This is refined pianism of a high order … fresh, spontaneous and altogether superbe’ (Gramophone)

‘Hamelin's refined taste and limitless technique serve the music well. Pure joy’ (The Absolute Sound, USA)

‘The Orlandos bring to the table many years of experience of singing together … the words are always delivered with real feeling (try En mon cuer), and one can hardly pass up the chance to hear the three late four-voice motets in close proximity. However many times one has heard it, the opening phrase of Christe qui lux still astonishes. At all times throughout this series, Machaut’s range is still astonishing’ (Gramophone)