'Fool's Paradise, for string orchestra, evolved from a piano trio by Joby Talbot about which we are told relatively little in the booklet. It is a hauntingly effective score in four parts, in many ways even finer than Alice' (Gramophone)

'Supported by Isabelle Trub's accompaniments, often rather more assertive and colourful than reticent Brits expect … David John Pike … is a rising young baritone with a powerfully operatic voice' (BBC Music Magazine)» More

'There's nothing precious or pained about Ben Johnson's tenor in his admirable recording of the five Canticles. The tone is sturdy, open and direct' (The Times)

'The St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Yuri Temirkanov, presents sterling performances of excerpts from Rimsky-Korsakov's The Invisible City of Kitezh and Sheherazade' (The Northern Echo)

'Walton's interpretation of Silent Woods is sublime, its songful rapture sustained in a seamless stream of subtly inflected melody, with a gentle uplift to the spirits in the central, more animated section. The two concertos on either side of this lovely miniature, ably supported by the Philharmonia, confirm Walton as an artist with secure intuition in terms of style and with a manner of performing that speaks with natural fluency, eloquence and strength of purpose. The contrasting elements of fragility and resolve in the Schumann concerto are held in fine balance, and in the Dvořák there is the sense that Walton, while consistently true to the composer's own voice, has a fresh, personal and thoroughly captivating way of expressing it' (The Daily Telegraph)» More

'Joby Talbot is composer perhaps best known far his film and television work, especially A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the hit BBC comedies The League of Gentleman and Psychoville. He has also, however, worked with some of Europe's leading choreographers, including with Christopher Wheeldon on a production for The Royal Ballet of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. A highlights disk of this score has just been released on Signum Classics. The music is quirkily tonal, unabashedly melodic, imaginatively orchestrated and virtuously (because it is well written) accessible. Some might argue that this delightful music isn't properly 'contemporary classical', to which I would blow a very large raspberry. If you like any of the standard classical ballet repertoire—Tchaikovsky et al—you will love this' (Composition Today)

'Canadian-British baritone David John Pike travels well in Vaughan Williams’ universe. He understands the evolutionary push these works gave to English parlour song, moving the art form into the 20th century and unimagined new realms of form and tonality' (The Whole Note, Canada)» More

‘There are forty-seven separate tracks here and on each one you will hear singing of the very highest quality. More than that you will experience music-making that’s born out of scholarship and a deep understanding of each composer’s music and how it should be presented; yet the scholarship is lightly worn. Nineteen very different and highly individual composers are represented and all are expertly served … a splendid representation of the art of The Tallis Scholars. If you are familiar with their work the set is a welcome and highly pleasurable way to refresh your memory. If you haven’t sampled much of their recorded output before—or if you’re unfamiliar with the richly rewarding field of Renaissance vocal music – then I hope this set may lead you to many new discoveries; you could not wish for better guides than Peter Phillips and his expert singers’ (MusicWeb International)

'A cappella arrangements of songs by Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Cole Porter serve as encores, allowing the BBC Singers to swing in slightly freer style together. Their high standards of execution, under Paul Brough's empathetic direction, grace the entire programme' (BBC Music Magazine)» More

'One of the more interesting of the tide of Britten centenary tributes, The Canticles features the five vocal settings composed at various points between 1947 and 1974, in which the ostensible religious themes disguise more secular interests—the barely veiled homoeroticism of Francis Quarles' seventeenth-century adoration of Christ in 'Canticle I', the allegorical linking of Blitz and Crucifixion in the Edith Sitwell powem used for 'Canticle III' etc. Set to piano parts occasionally reflecting the influence of the French Romantics, the most intriguing realisations are those on which tenor Ben Johnson is joined by other voices—with baritone and countertenor as the three Magi in 'Canticle IV', and most sublimely, paired with countertenor for the Abraham and Isaac story of 'Canticle II'' (The Independent)

‘If [Irene Scharrer]'s remembered from her recordings it’s really only the one, and that was ironically the last she made, Litolff’s Scherzo from the Concerto symphonique with Henry Wood accompanying … she was simply a 'marvellous musician … one of Britain’s great pianists’ (MusicWeb International)» More

'Pèlerinage highlights from Wales's pre-eminent pianist' (Gramophone)