‘His performance meets the best standards of The Tallis Scholars, with every detail well controlled and everything clearly audible but at the same time a musical freedom that brings the music to life … the singers cope effortlessly with the chromatic complexities of the famous early Timor et tremor. Once again, then, The Tallis Scholars and the Gimell label have produced something spectacularly worthwhile’ (Gramophone)

‘[Cinquecento's reading is] finely detailed and vocally sure-footed [with a] secure sense of architecture … close attention is rewarded with deepening appreciation’ (Gramophone)

‘In his day, de Lassus was more celebrated than his contemporary Palestrina and even more prolific, although today their relative pre-eminence is reversed. This disc is typically representative of The Brabant Ensemble's intention to record and promulgate somewhat lesser-known music from the first half of the sixteenth century. Devotees of the period will welcome its austere, otherworldly beauty’ (MusicWeb International)

‘The Brabant Ensemble's singers sound thoroughly engaged in their tribute to Lassus, with a rich tone-spectrum allowing for maximum appreciation of his fluid, elegant polyphony’ (Choir & Organ)

‘They certainly are astonishing in their harmonic daring, moving from C major via G major and B major to C sharp minor in the bat of an eyelid, and are wonderfully captured here by the suavely assured Brabant Ensemble under scholarly Stephen Rice. The prologue and 12 movements that make up Prophetiae Sibyllarum are joined by a Mass, a magnificat and three marvellous motets, including the sumptuous Tristis est anima mea. Listen and be moved’ (The Observer)

‘The performances throughout are wonderfully persuasive, with nothing arch or affected in the way in which the texts are presented; expressively, music that is as highly wrought as any of its time is made to seem completely natural’ (The Guardian)

‘The sound is very clean, very focused and detailed, and has remarkable sound-stage depth … the bottom line is, if you aren't familiar with Lux aeterna, your life is the poorer for it. You do need a recording of it’ (Stereophile)

‘Exquisitely sung by Polyphony with strong support from the Britten Sinfonia under Stephen Layton’ (The Observer)

‘This is compelling and challenging music that deserves wider performance. The world-class ensemble Polyphony has made many first-rate recordings, and this is another—and it will be an immediate acquisition for this composer's growing legions of fans … if you love choral music, Lauridsen's work is required listening’ (Classics Today)

‘Every one of the works on this mesmerising Hyperion release is deliciously lyrical and harmonically sumptuous, but spiced with delicate dissonances that are Lauridsen's signature … every performance here is delivered with liquid perfection’ (The Scotsman)

‘Above all, these performances by Stephen Layton's Polyphony are breathtakingly beautiful, powerfully expressive without trace of forced sentimentality. Hyperion's Disc of the Month for March should become one of the year's classical hits’ (Music Week)

‘The music has freshness and an affecting emotional pull to it that explains its popularity with singers and audiences across the pond. Stephen Layton's Polyphony, whose recent recordings of Pärt, Tavener and others have been revelations of choral singing, brings a comparable firmness, tonal opulence and refinement to this new repertoire, which will undoubtedly gain new admirers as a result’ (The Daily Telegraph)