‘This is the finest recording of Bach's cello suites that I've heard. The playing is enthralling, the production superb; nearly every detail sounds just right. Steven Isserlis has bided his time to record these suites and he comes to them with technique and sensibility finely honed, all of it evident in his richly dark tone, fluent phrasing, lithe dance rhythms and lovingly crafted lyricism … one of the year's outstanding recordings’ (Goldberg)

‘His judicious ornaments sensitively decorate—never distort—Bach’s lines … rhythmically he’s impeccable. The free ‘phantasticus’ style of the first four Preludes is gloriously fluent, capturing the harmonic flow implied within the single cello line. The fifth, a French Overture, is free of bombast and its subsequent quasi-fugue lyrical and unhurried. Isserlis plays the sixth suite, intended for a five-string instrument, on a normal four-string cello, negotiating the stratospheric range with astonishing ease … his sense of style is matched by an outstandingly secure technique. He has no need for those impassioned tenutos behind which others hide the terrors of multiple-stopping … recording quality is excellent—two-channel stereo is all that’s required, and it’s excellently balanced between immediacy and spaciousness. Casals (re-issued on Naxos) started it all in 1936—Beamish’s Catalan folk-song arrangement is a charming tribute to him. Ter Linden (Harmonia Mundi) provides a fine period-instrument account, and Hugh (Kevin Mayhew) a somewhat reverberant but perceptive ‘modern’ option. But for me, Isserlis and Hyperion provide a completely new and inspiring benchmark for this unique tour de force’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Isserlis is a passionate musician, but never thoughtless or frivolous, and the delicacy of his responses on this wonderful set sometimes take the breath away. If your soul fails to quiver in the quiet depths of the fifth suite’s sarabande, then you must be a robot in disguise. Yet he’s not on his knees always worshipping: time and again Isserlis asserts the music’s dance roots, whether through his thrusting accents or by sweeping through with a winning lilt … just listen to Isserlis, Bach and your heart, and the music that never dies’ (The Times)

‘This set marks a significant addition to the Christopher Herrick Bach archive and is a further manifestation of the happy collaboration between the artist and his excellent recording team’ (Organists' Review)

‘Hugely rewarding playing of the highest order’ (The Scotsman)

‘This disc is a 'must' for all who love this wonderful music’ (Cathedral Music)

‘Nicholson, Tunnicliffe, and Kenny engage with Beznosiuk and her musical ideas, creating excellent chamber music’ (American Record Guide)

‘Constant pleasure throughout … among the many recordings of these works, this stands high on the list’ (Goldberg)

‘The playing of the accompanying ensemble shares the distinction of the flautist … congratulations are well deserved all round’ (Early Music Review)

‘Beznosiuk plays accurately, with a huge dark sound and an easy-going fluency that makes these difficult pieces sound as easy as the first lessons in a Suzuki method class … this is a good, solid version of these fundamental works’ (Fanfare, USA)

«Lisa Beznosiuk sait prendre le temps de respirer, de suspendre la phrase, de ménager les traits virtuoses» (Répertoire, France)

‘An outstanding achievement’ (BBC Music Magazine)