‘The performance is strong and characterful: beautifully sung by Polyphony and subtly, imaginatively accompanied by the Britten Sinfonia's wind band … the group sing with ravishing, lustrous tone throughout and phrase and colour magnificently. Their dynamic and dramatic range is great and tension is continually racked up under the baton of Stephen Layton, though never at the expense of vocal purity, profundity of expression or dignity of delivery’ (MusicOHM.com)

‘This really excellent offering from Polyphony … Polyphony trumps all others for beauty of tone … in the Benedictus, too, musical sense arises from transparency and intelligent phrasing … the performances of the motets are excellent, too, painting nuanced pictures of these vocally and philosophically stratospheric pieces’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘This album finds the composer secure in his spiritual home, serving God in music transcendent. Stephen Layton's reading of the Second Mass articulates sublime, prayer-like qualities routinely overlooked and underplayed by others. The approach … is revelatory, rich in contrasts, fervent outbursts and symphonic tension … an outstanding release’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Polyphony and the Britten Sinfonia catch the music's starkness, exaltation and mysticism as movingly as I have heard. This is a searching performance, with soft singing of awed intensity, but also an unusually dramatic one. Stephen Layton never allows Bruckner's music, even at its most unearthly, to become becalmed; and he builds climaxes of molten intensity in, say, the Sanctus, or the fervent motet Christus factus est. A glorious disc of music that strives for, and ultimately attains, a state of transcendent peace’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Peace and goodwill would be the order of the day if Father Christmas could hand out to all and sundry copies of Polyphony's recording of the Bruckner's Mass in E minor. No disc I've heard this year comes near it for sheer beauty … Polyphony, whose sound is … smoothly rounded, fully blended and sumptuous … Layton produces such gorgeous sounds from his singers that the overall listening experience is infinitely satisfying … the seven unaccompanied motets are absolute gems. An ethereal account of Ave Maria has a breadth and grandeur which belies its short time-span; as the vocal lines crowd in on each other, the effect is nothing short of electrifying. And popular as it is, if there has to be a 'definitive' interpretation on disc of Locus iste, this has to be it. Put it simply, we're unlikely to hear choral singing as fine as this for a good few years to come’ (Gramophone)

‘A superb record. Exploring these pieces is a moving experience when the performances are as superlative as these. Very strongly recommended. Record of the Month’ (The Monthly Guide to Recorded Music)

‘Magnificently performed and excellently recorded. Recommended to more than Bruckner devotees’ (Music and Musicians)

'Un registro soberbio' (CD Compact, Spain)

‘Easily takes first place within the exiguous competition’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Strongly recommended’ (Hi-Fi News)

‘This is quite glorious … one senses right from the opening of Bruckner's Quintet—surely one of the finest quintets ever written, for any combination—an intensity that matches its ambitious structure … it's obvious from the first bars of the achingly beautiful Prelude … that this is going to be an exceptional performance’ (CDReview)

‘This is one of the best Bruckner-symphony recordings I have ever heard … a searing, electrically charged performance. Quite simply, it is stunning … one of the most exciting Bruckner performances on disc—and certainly the best Third I have ever heard. This is one that you simply have to have. Recommended with all the breath in my lungs … it has been a pleasure to review, and now to recommend’ (Fanfare, USA)