‘Tonus Peregrinus is a double quartet of expert singers brought together by the composer. With firm, fresh voices and precise intonation … they sound as ideal a group for fulfilling his intentions as he is likely to find on this side of the Heaven to which so much of his music aspires’ (Gramophone)

‘Howard Shelley gives us fine performances. There's exquisite filigree in the Pixis, while the Thalberg has swagger and panache’ (The Guardian)

‘The music is played with obvious affection and deep understanding, revealing to us, almost 200 years later, just what it was that attracted audiences of the late Georgian period. Nor … is any of the music entirely formulaic … throughout these three works, Shelley's elegance of phrasing and comprehensively musical technique are truly exceptional: cleverly, his dynamic range is judged to a nicety and the orchestral playing is remarkably fine throughout. The recorded sound is first-class in all respects. Jeremy Nicholas's notes are everything they should be—and more … truly, here is commerce in the service of art’ (International Record Review)

‘Porpora has been compared unfavourably with his contemporary Handel, but his music was much admired during his lifetime, and as Davies's beautifully shaped and coloured singing shows, it has a great deal of elegance and charm … the performances certainly give it the best possible chance; the players of Arcangelo are alive to every nuance of the recitatives and in the arias take the instrumental obbligatos (whether for violin, recorder or bassoon) with great relish’ (The Guardian)

‘In selecting Iestyn Davies to perform [the cantatas] Hyperion has made a very wise choice indeed … he is very much the headline act and is never anything other than deeply impressive … I look forward to hearing these superb musicians on disc again in the not-too-distant future’ (International Record Review)

‘These six Italian cantatas by the baroque composer Nicola Porpora, all to texts by Metastasio, are perfectly tailored to the mellifluous, beautifully articulated, expressive countertenor voice of Iestyn Davies, accompanied by apt colouring from the instrumental ensemble Arcangelo’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Iestyn Davies, today's most exciting British countertenor, sings six of [the cantatas] here with an awesome technique and flawless tone, accompanied by the lithe and graceful chamber ensemble Arcangelo, with the princely Jonathan Cohen directing from the cello. Recommended’ (The Observer)

‘The musicianship is exquisite. Cohen's cello playing is softly lyrical … and Davies's coloratura shines … his embellishments are gorgeous’ (Gramophone)

‘This premiere recording gloriously recreates Porpora's own aural and dramatic contexts. Making his solo debut on the Hyperion label, countertenor Iestyn Davies hovers delicately between passion and languour, enactment and commentary … technically immaculate and thoroughly researched, the production value of this disc meets Hyperion's usual high standards. At last we can hear why period cognoscenti sometimes preferred Porpora to Handel’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Soprano Elena Cecchi Fedi's singing is both beautiful and vocally deft, and the playing of the Italian group Auser Musici is emotionally responsive and dramatically alert to match. The opening cantata, Or sì m'avveggio, oh Amore, with its rocketing cello obligato, is particularly fine’ (The Irish Times)

‘This outstanding disc not only displays unequivocal proof of Porpora's exceptional skill … but also provides some of the most genuinely enjoyable and captivating performances of eighteenth-century vocal music I have heard on disc for a very long time … these are brilliantly written recitatives, clearly, but with Fedi's clarity of diction and conviction of delivery, they are transformed into something truly exceptional. Yet to single out the recitatives, when the instrumental colouring of the arias and sinfonias is so magical, is to do a major disservice both to Porpora and to Auser Musici … here is music-making of such infectious happiness that this disc is destined to be a constant companion for the foreseeable future’ (International Record Review)

'This generally excellent album makes a strong case for Cole Porter as perhaps the best of the Great American Songwriters … Sarah Fox is an accomplished opera singer who has always done this sort of stuff, so there's no condescension here. Instead, she totally commands Porter's idiom' (Daily Mail)» More