‘As Tony Haywood wrote in his appreciative review, you really need the companion disc, containing Nos 1 and 4 and Central Park in the Dark, to complete the picture— only, with no download, on CDA67540. The transition from No 1 to No 4 on this album is a real culture shock. Now the hymns, popular songs and marching tunes are juxtaposed and superimposed on each other in the second movement. I’m not sure that I can yet relate fully to this symphony, or that I ever shall, but I’m prepared to work at it for the sake of the sublime third movement and the powerful finale’ (MusicWeb International)

‘Strongly tonal and lyrical, Jongen's chief influences seem to be Richard Strauss and César Franck … the Fantasia in E major has a gorgeous honeyed melody as its main subject. A better title might have given it wider currency. The more amorphous Adagio symphonique from three years later comes from the same stable, with the soloist flying high over a rich orchestral texture. It is this characteristic that is most evident in the three movements of the Violin Concerto’ (Gramophone)

‘Hypnotic intensity: harshness mingled with beauty … there is beauty, too, in the setting of Jeremy Taylor’s poem on the Annunciation. I haven’t heard the rival recordings from The Sixteen or New College Choir but I doubt that they convey the quality of this almost timeless setting better than Polyphony’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘The King’s Choir and Consort directed by Robert King made a complete series of the Sacred Music of Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) … this is music that I could listen to all day long. With Carolyn Sampson and Rebecca Outram (sopranos), Rogers Covey-Crump (high tenor), Charles Daniels and James Gilchrist (tenors) and Peter Harvey (bass) you could hardly wish for a more distinguished team of soloists’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Eastop sails through the challenges with aplomb. His playing possesses plenty of agility and he can phrase slow movements gracefully … he is matched by a very stylish Hanover Band … the string playing is lean, with clean articulation and punch to the accents … after the concertos comes a lovely reading of the Horn Quintet, K407, the earliest work Mozart composed for Leutgeb. In this, the composer employs two violas instead of two violins, giving a slightly darker string palette, admirably conveyed here by the Eroica Quartet. After the raucous, rambunctious concertos, the Quintet offers an amiable postlude, performed with much charm. This is a clear winner of a disc destined to bring many a smile through the winter gloom’ (International Record Review)» More

‘An extraordinary performance on the natural horn … Pip Eastop gives these pieces an extraordinary immediacy and authenticity. His superb technical ability and inventiveness are put to brilliant use in these very enjoyable renditions. He is ably accompanied by The Hanover Band conducted by Tony Halstead’ (Classic FM)» More

‘Even if you have the classic Dennis Brain recordings with Herbert von Karajan … as surely almost all Mozarteans do, there's a place for an alternative set on the natural horn and with the advantage of modern recording … this recording made me hear more new aspects of the concertos and especially of the quintet than any other. It’s emphatically not just for the period-instrument brigade’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Eastop's playing has the effect of making the modern horn sound a little, er, boring. He doesn't attempt to smooth over the differences between open and stopped notes, effortlessly switching between legato lines and rollicking hunting calls. It's an instantly appealing, very vocal sound … this is a feel-good disc in every way; Eastop's cheeky virtuosity eliciting gasps as well as giggles … Eastop sails through its difficulties, resisting the temptation to rush through the witty finale. It sounds all the better for it. Intelligent notes, sensitive accompaniments and excellent sound—what's not to like?’ (TheArtsDesk.com)» More

‘There is no shortage of recitals of Arvo Pärt's shorter choral works in catalogue, but anything by Polyphony is always welcome … Polyphony's sound is, as always, so rich and beautiful that there is no sense of anything missing’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘This disc of Pärt's choral music is one of the most singularly beautiful recordings I've heard this year … this is a stunning addition to Pärt’s ever-increasing discography and is unreservedly recommended’ (International Record Review)» More

‘Angela Hewitt has made a number of recordings of the music of Robert Schumann … It’s easy to forget, because Hewitt has made so many recordings of Bach on the piano that even lovers of the harpsichord appreciate, that she made her reputation with the Romantic and French repertoires. Another bonus is that you can follow up this Schumann recording with that of the Second Sonata and the other works’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Another Scriabin winner from Lane who takes the music's finger-breaking, chromatically intensified complexities in his stride with a beguiling, micro-inflected sensitivity that favours poetic intimacy over primeval catharsis’ (BBC Music Magazine)