‘Carolyn Sampson's singing is graceful, pure-toned, beautiful … she embellishes neatly, her runs are smooth, and in a contemplative song like Künftiger Zeiten eitler Kummer she can spin out phrases to magical effect … balance and clarity are admirable, as indeed are the introductory texts’ (International Record Review)

‘Carolyn Sampson comes across spectacularly well on disc. Her beautiful sweet-toned soprano is ideally suited to the baroque repertoire and here, as in the other Hyperion releases such as Handel's Ode to St Cecilia, she excels. The performance is well-integrated, both within the ensemble and between instruments and voice’ (MusicOHM.com)

‘Carolyn Sampson beautifully expresses inward rapture and outward joy, and she is touchingly wistful in 'Süsser Blumen'. She is nicely matched by the violin of Stéphane-Marie Degand, and the spiky tone of Alexandra Bellamy is an extra pleasure in the three oboe sonatas’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘The nine German arias Handel composed … still rank among his best-kept secrets. Barthold Brockes's verses are a pantheistic celebration of God-in-Nature, and Handel responded with music of hedonistic enchantment, from the rapt, wondering Süsse Stille to the laughing ebullience of Das zitternde Glänzen. Always a lovely Handel soprano, Carolyn Sampson sings these arias with her trademark pellucid tone and refined phrasing. She spins a smooth, serene line in the more contemplative numbers, and dances blithely in an aria such as Süsser Blumen Ambraflocken, vying with violinist Stéphanie-Marie Degand in playful coloratura flourishes’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘With her pure, luminous tone, graceful sense of phrase and discerning musicality, Carolyn Sampson gives enchanting performances of music that is essentially about enchantment … Süsse Stille is exquisitely shaped and savoured, with a rapt, confiding pianissimo at the da capo. Elsewhere Sampson perfectly catches the blissful langour of Künft'ger Zeiten eitler Kummer and brings a smiling eagerness to Die ihr aus dunklen Grüften, enhancing the da capo with playful touches of ornamentation’ (Gramophone)

'[The] carefully balanced programme certainly ticks conceptual boxes by presenting samples from almost every possible genre for every major Italian city Handel worked in during his grand tour around Italy from late 1706 until early 1710' (Gramophone)

‘Purves is a singer in a million. The English bass-baritone owns both the physical equipment and the artistry required to transcend the technical demands set by Handel for equally extraordinary performers from his day … of course you’ll smile in wonder as Purves spans almost three octaves, from regions usually inhabited by wimpy tenors to subterranean depths … Purves belongs to the Handel superleague when it comes to sheer variety of tonal nuance and expressive shading … the singer gives a masterclass in exploring the psychopathology of Handel’s characters while revelling in the apparently inexhaustible genius of the composer’s invention … his interpretations come to life in partnership with the gloriously unbuttoned period-instrument band Arcangelo under its charismatic director Jonathan Cohen’ (Sinfini.com)

‘The full strings of Arcangelo are truly lively in Handel's music, and admirable playing is heard from wind soloists … Cohen proves again that he and Arcangelo are convincing and winning exponents of Baroque music … many of these selections resemble a roller-coaster of notes as the musical line rises and falls … and Purves produces an overall coverage that I do not remember having been bettered’ (International Record Review)

‘Christopher Purves gives us masterful, dazzling and powerful performances of scenes from 15 of the composer's dramatic works, lithely and splendidly supported by up-and-coming ensemble Arcangelo and conductor Jonathan Cohen. In short, this is the most outstanding album of its kind I've ever heard from any singer’ (Early Music Today)

‘One to treasure both for the sensitive and well-sustained singing of Christopher Purves and for the wonderfully wide expressive range of Handel's music … enjoyment is further enhanced by excellent support from the instrumental ensemble Arcangelo under Jonathan Cohen's sympathetic direction’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Purves's flair for specific characterisation enlivens every number on the disc. Egged on by Arcangelo's splenetic strings, he works in himself into a rage worthy of Boschi in an aria from Riccardo Primo. Coloratura, here and elsewhere, is always precisely focused, wide leaps cleanly negotiated at speed … Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo savour the rich string textures here, typical of their feeling for colour throughout a recital that pays eloquent tribute to Handel's boundless invention in composing for bass voice’ (Gramophone)

‘Enjoyable performances … well worth exploring’ (Gramophone)