‘I was transfixed this week by a Howells album called Sine nomine from professional choral ensemble Ikon and its conductor David Hill … a lovely, sensitive adaptation [of King David]; so is the title track Sine nomine ‘A Phantasy' which is a fabulously rich piece of 1920s’ Howells … this ought to be a must for Howells enthusiasts and choral fans—there are probably things here you won’t have heard. Excellent, expressive singing and a recording to match’ (BBC Record Review)

'Anche se i dischi dedicati al Clavicembalo ben temperato di Bach sono ormai numerosissimi, ogni nuova produzione giunge comunque assai gradita, soprattutto se ne è protagonista uno strumentista di valore come Mahan Esfahani, già reduce da svariate altre produzioni bachiane … in questa sua nuova proposta, con la quale il solista ha ripreso la collaborazione con la gloriosa Hyperion, sono diversi i motivi di interesse … dati i risultati conseguiti, questa nuova proposta si colloca tra le più innovative ed interessanti degli ultimi anni … tale da collocarsi ben oltre le versioni correnti' (Musica, Italy)

‘Imagine the Berlioz Symphonie fantastique’s stark raving mad finale and Liszt’s Scherzo und Marsch first paired together, then chopped to bits, and then radically reharmonised to 21st-century specifications, with more than a few hints of Carl Stalling’s Warner Brothers cartoon soundtracks tossed into the mix. That’s more or less what Hamelin’s own Hexensabbat sounds like. So who had more fun putting this delightful romp together, the composer or the pianist? Perhaps both. In short, Found Objects / Sound Objects may be Hamelin’s most uncompromising, most personal and most interesting release to date’ (Gramophone)

‘Trust pianist Marc-André Hamelin to transform a program of demanding atonal pieces into an exciting, energetic, and beautiful journey … a pianistic tour de force that only Marc-André Hamelin knows how to achieve’ (PAN M 360, Canada)

‘Herbert Howells’s Sine nomine remains one of the most sheerly intoxicating achievements from his early maturity (if you know and love, say, Vaughan Williams’s Pastoral Symphony and Flos campi, let me urge you waste no time in making its acquaintance). This remarkable work was originally scored for two wordless vocalists, chorus, organ and orchestra, and it’s to Iain Farrington’s credit that his sensitive transcription for soprano, tenor, violin, SSAATTBB and piano manages to preserve so much of this music’s visionary scope. Savour stellar contributions from soprano Hilary Cronin, tenor Ruairi Bowen, violinist Charlie Lovell-Jones and Farrington himself at the piano. An immaculately disciplined, superbly blended response, too, from the 21 singers that make up Ikon, directed by David Hill … production (Andrew Walton), annotation (Tom Edney) and presentation (Samuel Palmer’s In Shoreham Garden adorns the front cover) are beyond reproach. A delectable issue, this, showcasing Howells’s secular choral output in a fabulously confident set of performances, and absolutely not to be missed’ (Gramophone)

‘A new recording of one of the most symphonic Anglican anthems of them all [Henry Balfour Gardiner’s Evening Hymn] … such a satisfyingly expansive performance … it’s a wonderful recording as well, with the organ and acoustic of Ely Cathedral wonderfully integrated … the album’s called Let all the world in every corner sing after Kenneth Leighton’s explosion of choral joy … I love it’ (BBC Record Review)

‘So compellingly performed. This is especially true of the Piaf material. What a good idea to open with ‘La foule’. One could almost hear the distinctive voice of the Little Sparrow herself. It forms a charming couplet with ‘La vie en rose’, imaginatively arranged by Laura Snowden … it’s solo Whittingham that most induces one to hit ‘repeat’. The Debussy, the Satie, the Ida Presti … there’s such a strong grasp of the guitar as a complete theatre of emotion’ (Gramophone)

'Va subito detto che si tratta di un’interpretazione di altissimo livello: il coro si è rivelato un organismo assai compatto, morbido ed omogeneo dal punto di vista timbrico, i tempi adottati dal direttore sono risultati funzionali alla piena valorizzazione della musica e al carattere funebre delle due composizioni, evidenziandone di volta in volta l’impronta meditativa e il sommesso lirismo, offrendo in tal modo un affresco assai coinvolgente … Dougan si è distinta per una condotta più meditativa, se non estatica, grazie a scelte agogiche più controllate ed ad una notevole sottigliezza di dinamiche. Un disco, in definitiva, che consiglio vivamente in questi nostri tempi oscuri, dominati dal cinismo e da una crescente disumanità, un disco che oltre alla bellezza e alla densità della musica unisce un profondo slancio mistico' (Musica, Italy)

‘Among the speeding plinks and plonks a spell was being cast. For that you can partly credit the hidden charms of Zappa's filigree concoction [Ruth is sleeping]. But the most obvious lure was the enormous skill of the pianist, the magisterially wonderful Marc-André Hamelin, famous for tackling the piano repertoire's most formidable creations and making them seem what is technically known as a piece of cake … every object on this refreshing album is well worth finding and listening to’ (The Times)

‘A reminder. Andrey Gugnin is a 38-year-old Russian pianist whose virtuosity is of a lightness and charm known to very few … [Gugnin’s] playing has a precision and elegance that free him to characterize each ballet recreation with an ease that makes you temporarily forget the original scores … Hyperion’s sound is superb … this is a delectable record and I long to hear Gugnin in mainstream repertoire’ (The Art of Pianists)

‘If the thought ‘not another Schumann Piano Concerto’ crossed your mind, then let it perish! This is a performance for the ages, as fresh and spontaneous as many modern performances—and in some respects even more so … Davies’s recordings are of great historical importance’ (Gramophone)

‘De Profundis have a group probably more like what Morales would have expected, and Eamonn Dougan conducts with his customary tactful musicianship … [Ave verum corpus] is a really gorgeous piece, gorgeously sung’ (Gramophone)