‘Throughout, Martyn Brabbins’s persuasive tempos and wholesome approach pay many dividends and make the strongest possible case for a score that deserves its place in the limelight that this release now affords it’ (colinscolumn.com)» More

‘The Utah Symphony has enjoyed something of a golden era under the direction of Thierry Fischer … mindful that the cumulative majesty of ‘Bryce Canyon’ is but the climax of the second part, Fischer draws wistful pathos from the depiction of the wood thrush, then builds the evocation of ‘Zion Park’ with unforced eloquence such that this apotheosis yields a fervency more affecting for its understatement … this account impressively combines accuracy with atmosphere in sound of clarity and lustre. Informatively annotated by Paul Griffiths, it can be warmly recommended to those new to and familiar with this masterpiece—a ringing endorsement of Fischer as his Utah tenure reaches its conclusion’ (Gramophone)

‘This is the fourth CD that this vocal ensemble (made up of 19 men this time) has given us … the good news is that this is the first of 12 CDs that will offer all of Morales’s Masses and Magnificats … the large male vocal ensemble produces a rich, well-blended tone. It may be noted that two other vocal ensembles of about the same size are The Brabant Ensemble and The Sixteen, but both are adult mixed-voice groups. This ensemble is easily their equal, and Hyperion is giving us a valuable series of recordings. Go for this one, and you will probably be watching for the rest of the series’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘In taking these momentous scores back to their Parisian roots Klaus Mäkelä, as expected, engages his keen ears and sense of orchestral drama to hear and to project their startling innovation’ (Gramophone)

«Ni le compositeur ni l’ensemble De Profundis ne nous lassent une seule seconde. La masse chorale cisèle cette luxueuse polyphonie avec autant d’engagement que de relief, la vingtaine de chanteurs anglais charpentant avec lisibilité et rondeur la conduite des phrasés, dans un épanouissement sonore … l’aventure débute sous les plus beaux auspices !» (Diapason, France)

‘Exceedingly good … singing together, the group’s blend is breathtaking. But it is actually the moments when each member performs separately that carry the most musical and dramatic weight, each conveying a vast spectrum of emotion resulting from the pangs and pleasures of love, hope, fortune, and misfortune. Like a Matryoshka doll, they are thus able to multiply themselves—while they are only four singers, each contains a multitude of voices, personalities, characters, and moods’ (Early Music America, USA)

‘Mäkelä and his players instill every bar with an undeniable balletic grace’ (The Classic Review)

‘Welcome back to town Piers for a second visit (is it really ten years since the first???), your suitcase once again packed with piano pieces—thirty-four this time—that don’t get out much but deserve to the way you play them—with style and sensitivity, brilliance and brio, affection and artistry. Splendid selections, too, and considered contrasts to sustain eighty-two mercurial minutes … Ben Connellan has done a great job with his microphones. Medals all round for so many delights’ (colinscolumn.com)» More

‘This delectable collection offers three more of the best: the two Op 77 quartets plus the D minor Op 42, which contrasts excellently with the serenity and poise of the late works. There’s a wonderful immediacy about the London Haydn Quartet’s playing here, complemented by superb recorded sound. The ensemble’s period instruments, gut strings and considered stylistic approach offer plenty of colour and contrast: for instance, there’s a raw edge to the intensity of the D minor Quartet, and a twilit delicacy to the carefully voiced building of textures in the ever-developing Andante of the Op 77 No 2’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Appropriately, the sessions for this vibrant new recording by the Utah Symphony were punctuated by an extraordinary outdoor performance amidst the canyons and stars, a long-held ambition of outgoing music director Thierry Fischer. From the sparse skittering and chittering of the opening depiction of the desert to the kookily verdant Eden of the concluding ‘Zion Park et la cité céleste’, the orchestra sparkles with colour … and pianist Jason Hardink is outstanding. His long association with Messiaen’s music is brought to bear with incisive virtuosity allied to living in the transcendent moment and a sense of joy that extends to the whole ensemble’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘The bare, bleak sounds [of the ‘Introduction' to The Seven Last Words]—those pauses as punctuation—and the carefully controlled vibrato make the start of the piece stark and startling just as Haydn obviously intended, and the final ‘Earthquake' doesn’t go for shock and awe exactly, rather inescapable fatalistic power. The usual London Haydn Quartet hallmarks are present and correct: gut strings, historically informed mindset, uncompromising accuracy and some lyrically lovely slow movements in the Op 77 and 42 quartets, and sparkling swift witty finales’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Canyons/Stars passes the time engagingly with music that is evocative, powerful, poignantly expressive, quirky, and scenically awestruck, and always colourful. In this Utah account, the twelve-movement Canyons lasts ninety-two minutes (at the quicker end of this opus’s scale) and comes across as well-paced, presciently prepared and committedly performed. Good sound, too; vivid and transparent’ (colinscolumn.com)» More