‘Twelve voices, two pianos, one harmonium: The King’s Consort perform Rossini’s Mass in its original intimate dimensions, sized to fit a Paris salon. Hardly petite in length, it’s an irresistible, affecting work, full of surprises, with tender arias, tremendous fugues, and only a few dips into the sentimental pot. The three period instruments supply a rainbow of colours. Among the singers, Hilary Summers stands out with her individual timbre’ (The Times)

‘There isn't a low point on the entire disc. Roger Vignoles plays with all his characteristic intelligence and subtlety. Miah Persson is enchanting in the opening La promessa, and playfully dazzling in La pastorella dell'Alpi. Stella Doufexis' pure, rich voice gives perfect expression to L’orpheline du Tyrol, and the two women's voices meld together magically when paired in duets such as La pesca. Meanwhile, Bruce Ford is technically brilliant and dramatically engaging in the drinking song, L'orgia, and smoothly leads the mood from light to darkness with L'esule, the first of the Péchés de vieillesse. If Rossini's songs are the cake and the performers the icing, the recording itself is the unexpected cherry on top. The acoustic of Potton Hall in Suffolk immediately transports you to the intimate space of Rossini's salon, candles flickering, guests listening intently, adding a further dimension to this already wonderful disc’ (bbc.co.uk)

‘All four musicians make a positive contribution to this charming, entertaining disc—a surprise venture into a still under-explored area of art-song by the ever-enterprising Hyperion’ (International Record Review)

‘Rossini's salon works are witty, charming, tuneful and downright silly, complete with florid vocal lines. Lovely performances’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘It's hard for any disc of Rossini's Paris salon songs not to speed by in a wink of delight. And it's impossible with Miah Persson's bright soprano and the sensitive accompaniments of Roger Vignoles’ (The Times)

‘Salon music at its most sophisticated and highly wrought. Gently elegiac bel canto arias jostle with popular dance rhythms, from a yodelling Tyrolean waltz to the snap and swagger of the bolero and fandango … the three singers give virtually unalloyed pleasure’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Joyous music-making that is perfect for a summer's evening’ (Daily Mail)

‘Rossini's writing for the piano is highly idiosyncratic. It requires a first-rate technique, a sure sense of style and an ability to bring off insouciance all manner of hair's-breadth effects. Mr Vignoles has the measure of all this and more’ (Gramophone)

‘Slight, unfailingly melodious, and lovingly performed’ (BBC Music Magazine)

'It scarcely seems possible that Birmingham-based chamber choir Ex Cathedra and their founder-director Jeffrey Skidmore entered their fifth decade of performing together in 2009. The group's repertoire has always been wide, but everything that marks out Ex Cathedra as one of the UK's leading vocal ensembles can be heard on this memorable two-disc set of music by Alec Roth: even tone, perfect intonation, clarity of diction, but above all whole-hearted commitment to the material in hand. Skidmore offers authoritative readings of four of Roth's choral pieces, several of which were composed for Ex Cathedra. It is an excellent follow-up to Signum's earlier disc of Roth's Songs in Time of War. Warmly recommended' (Choir & Organ)

'Alec Roth has collaborated with Ex Cathedra since 2007, and five of his works are immaculately sung here by the choir, including Shared Ground, with optional movementsfor solo violin included' (BBC Music Magazine)

'Roth's music is striking for its rich, beautifully crafted choral textures, ecological and metaphysical subject matter, and references to the great heritage of European choral music. This double album features Jeffrey Skidmore's excellent choir and the violinist Philippe Honore. Earthrise is a fabulous. 40-part unaccompanied choral work in three movements with the sort of poly-choral, lushly harmonized climaxes that send shivers down the spine. Just as impressive is Shared Ground, in which Vikram Seth's text pays homage to George Herbert as deftly as Roth's music pays homage to Bach' (The Times)