‘For Scriabin … the mazurka form is not a pretext for pretty salon pieces but a means of introspective experimentation. Gugnin takes risks … no 2 is a meditative, luminous highlight, while No 8 offers the best of both worlds—and the pianist handles them with exquisite sensibility’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Such a powerful partnership, this—full of ideas and energy and musical inspiration, and it's an excellent, intimate recording as well: the hushed opening of the D major sonata fragment at the end is magical’ (BBC Record Review)

‘This is a richly rewarding disc. Iestyn Davies offers a flawless exhibition of the art of countertenor singing, bringing superb technique and alert intelligence to all the music. Under the stylish direction of Jonathan Cohen, the members of Arcangelo give distinguished support with the organ paying of Tom Foster a special delight. This is intimate music; engineer David Hinitt and producer Stephen Johns have captured that intimacy in a beautifully judged recording. Hyperion’s documentation is up to the standard we have come to take for granted from this label; Richard Wigmore’s notes are a model of their kind. This is a most worthy successor to Iestyn Davies’ previous disc of Bach cantatas with Arcangelo’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Despite the dire predictions of certain doom-mongers, the quality of British liturgical choral music commissioned in the past few years has continued to be of the highest quality and the greatest interest. This glorious new album, recorded in 2020, features 11 newish works, superlatively performed and recorded in stunning detail … under James O’Donnell’s inspired direction, the Abbey’s choristers throw themselves wholeheartedly into this demanding repertory, in performances that will surely dispel any lingering Covid blues’ (Gramophone)

‘Davies’ voice—still boyish-pure and agile but animated with a man’s artistry and sophistication—is an ideal vehicle for works whose demands are staggering … Davies might be the headliner, but there’s a scene-stealing turn in both cantatas from organist Tom Foster, whose opening Sinfonias (organ concertos in disguise) dazzle and burst with bell-like freshness and vigour. He’s not alone; the whole ensemble bounds and romps under Cohen’s direction, Leo Duarte’s oboe da caccia and a pair of viola da gambas (Kinga Gáborjáni and Reiko Ichise) periodically grounding the brilliance with their grit and bite … a disc full of delights’ (Limelight, Australia)» More

‘Bach wrote four cantatas for solo countertenor, two of which, BWV 35 and 169, incorporate magnificent concerto movements. So, they’re the perfect vehicles for the crack team of Iestyn Davies’s extraordinary vocal control and Arcangelo’s nimble-footedness … Schütz’s anguished Erbarm dich, published a century before, and Buxtehude’s equally desolate Klag-Lied (‘Elegy’) of 1674 provide a welcome change in mood, both works again showcasing Arcangelo’s burnished strings and Davies’s natural instinct for drama and heartfelt expression’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘The hallmarks of Hewitt’s artistry are in evidence: finger-work of nimble grace and steely strength; clarity of line; understated pedalling. These are considered readings that bring out the detail of Beethoven’s writing, captured in clear sound by Hyperion … Hewitt’s excellence as a Bach pianist pays dividends in the Baroque grandeur of the first movement [of Op 111] and the easy lilt and rhythmic games of the variations. And she gets to the heart of the Sonata’s existential journey, carrying us from the spiritual depths towards starlight’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘What a joy it is to explore this wonderful music through Stephen Hough's playing. He brings a marvellous flow to the melodies, with speeds generally on the brisker side, happily banishing wayward sentimentality … this goes into my recordings of the year pile. Hough plays with an elegance and suppleness that sounds as natural as breathing, every melodic line played with a weightless touch that belies the percussive nature of the instrument and decorative flourishes very often sounding like a spontaneous creations. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending this set’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘This excellent collection of contemporary British choral works is a breath of fresh air, offering a gladly unstuffy vision of church music for the 21st century … beautifully performed and skilfully recorded, this is an altogether rewarding listen that inspires reflection and devotion’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘This is the final instalment of Howard Shelley’s well-received survey of the almost 200 solo piano pieces Mendelssohn somehow managed to scribble in his incredibly busy career … recorded in a full, close acoustic—almost as though one were standing next to the piano in some Victorian drawing-room—the solidity of Shelley’s pianism and his belief in this music comes over convincingly’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘A sense of serene, ethereal joy exuded here [BWV169] by counter-tenor Iestyn Davies—such tonal beauty and clean, clear line amongst the instrumentalists of Arcangelo, directed by Jonathan Cohen. The opening Sinfonia is an exuberant mini organ concerto which you might recognize because Bach also used it in an E major keyboard concerto … the organ sparkles around the alto solo in the first aria, Tom Foster revelling in the decorative curlicues as though he’s painting details on to a serenely beautiful marble sculpture … a lovely recording too, effectively balanced; all the busy instrumental lines framing the solo voice, the whole thing hovering in a church acoustic … it’s my Record of the Week’ (BBC Record Review)

‘Jonathan Dove’s Vast ocean of light makes a superb opener for the recording—the idea of luminescence and spaciousness in Phineas Fletcher’s text so effectively evoked—and it has a thunderous conclusion as well: Matthew Martin’s Behold now, praise the Lord, written in memory of organist John Scott, with an organ part he’d surely have loved, ending with a massive outburst of sound played with the forearm. It’s all been wonderfully captured in the building; all the space and dynamic range you could wish for’ (BBC Record Review)