‘Strongly recommended!’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘It would be hard to imagine more consistently on-target presentations of Poulenc’s chamber music or more appropriate sound reproduction. Highly recommended’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘An altogether first-class collection of Poulenc's very individual chamber music output played with real sensitivity … outstanding performances. The whole issue wins my enthusiastic recommendation: it bids fair to become the undisputed yardstick for the future’ (Gramophone)

‘Those who treasure performances of this music should hear this recording to discover the insights which the very best of today's musicians bring to these scores’ (Classical Express)

‘Thoroughly excellent’ (The Observer)

‘A set which will surely and deservedly be popular’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Entrancing. It's hard to select the choicest treasures from this jewel box of Poulenc's most witty and vivacious, hauntingly melodic and touchingly heartfelt music, especially when it is played with such effervescence and devotion as here. The two masterpieces are the Sextet for Piano and Winds (1932) and the delectable "Mozartian" Trio for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon, played with dashing elan and soulful lyricism by the pianist Ian Brown and the Nash's brilliant wind principals. Richard Watkins's long-breathed account of the moving Elégie in memoriam Dennis Brain (1957) and Paul Watkins's noble-toned playing of the Cello Sonata (1940/48) are exceptional. But there is rapture, elation, zany high spirits in all of this music, dazzlingly played by the Nash Ensemble. Buy, buy, buy!’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Thirteen pieces lovingly brought to life by the Nash Ensemble. For once, the word 'jewel-box' for the CD container sounds about right’ (BBC CD Review)

‘Especially enjoyable is the final disc, subtitled Fancy. Soprano Susan Bickley is superb in Poulenc’s early Poèmes de Ronsard—sparky settings of Renaissance poetry, and Ashley Riches has fun with the better-known Chansons gaillardes. The Huit chansons polonaises, sung by Agnieszka Adamczak, pay oblique homage to Poulenc’s beloved Chopin. There’s not a weak link among the vocal cast, and there’s even a cameo from the great Felicity Lott. A wonderful bonus is the inclusion of a 1970s BBC taping of Babar, narrated with impeccable grace and wit by Poulenc’s long-time recital partner Pierre Bernac. Johnson’s accessible, comprehensive notes deserve to be published in book form, and Hyperion generously provide full texts and translations. These songs will comfort the most jaded of palates, and this box set contains enough riches to sustain a lifetime’s listening. In Johnson’s words, Poulenc’s music 'has seemed dark and joyous, accessible and remote, imperishable yet infinitely fragile, and now it is in the hands of a younger generation’ (TheArtsDesk.com)

‘Johnson's playing is marvellous, virtuosic where needed, but above all attuned to every nuance of his singers. This really is a multifaceted release: the blending of the art forms that was characteristic of Poulenc's time, where poets were absorbed by painters, and composers by poets, alongside the 15 singers gathered on these discs, together with the chameleon-like nature of Poulenc's own genius, all make for an enterprise of dazzling complexity. The recording quality is exemplary, combining clarity with a perfect bloom on the piano sound’ (International Record Review)

'This second volume of a projected complete survey of Poulenc's songs 'a delightful prospect' begins with one of his earliest and longest examples, the waltz-song Toreador, which Poulenc described as a caricature of a music-hall song. Christopher Maltman sings it stylishly, with Malcolm Martineau contributing his usual artistry in conjuring a whole world of colours and moods from the piano part … singers score pretty high in their projection and pronunciation of diverse texts, and their all-round musicianship … overall this album is guaranteed to bring hours of pleasure—a must-have for Poulenc fans' (MusicWeb International)» More

'This is very much the mixture as before in the first of Signum's projected cycle of the complete Poulenc songs. The team of British singers accompanied by Malcolm Martineau is the same as before, the sopranos tending to outshine the male singers, though Felicity Lott in one or two of her contributions—as for example the Lafanne poems—is not in quite such fresh voice as before, even if the difference is marginal and her artistry and feeling for the French language remain as impressive as ever' (Gramophone)