‘Hamelin presents another hour of hair-raising (not to say spine-tingling) music in performances few could match … awesome’ (Classic CD)

‘Marc-André Hamelin’s transcendental sheen and facility bless everything he plays. He makes As três Marias wink and scintillate with an inimitable verve … leaves all others standing’ (Gramophone)

‘Hamelin grasps [the music’s] sprawl clearly and delivers it with unrivalled perfection of pianistic mechanism. He relishes the delights of the lighter pieces with equal virtuosity’ (The Irish Times)

‘Enough technical dazzle to satisfy even the most virtuoso-hungry listeners … revelatory. In short, this is a must-buy release. It’s thrillingly exciting. Recommended with all possible enthusiasm’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Magnificent. Easily the most sophisticated Villa-Lobos piano disc currently in the catalogue’ (International Record Review)

‘This recording offers the most comprehensive compilation of Villette's choral music in print. Layton's interpretation skillfully supports the composer's intent, especially in terms of text-music relationships. The Holst Singers' diversity of tone color, pristine intonation, exploration of dynamic range, and nuances of rhythmic flexibility are consistently excellent … Layton's balance of every tone in the twenty-part texture achieves an outstanding sonority, a highlight of the recording … I recommend this recording enthusiastically and without reservation’ (Choral Guide)

‘The Holst Singers—Stephen Layton's 'other' great choir—is every bit as skilled, sonorous and sensitive as his better-known group, Polyphony. Very few conductors manage this sort of exquisite phrasing, subtle nuance, gleaming sound, and absolute control that you hear from any of Layton's choirs. Hyperion records them beautifully and offers its usual complete and classy booklet’ (American Record Guide)

‘The Holst Singers’ blend, diction, intonation, and ensemble are uniformly up there with the best, as is the engineering of the recording’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘If I was going to choose a record company to commit Villette's music to disc, then Hyperion would be my first choice and the team invovled in this production do not let composer or musicians down, capturing the mood so well … it is a cracking CD’ (Cathedral Music)

‘Shades of Messiaen, Duruflé, Gregorian chant and jazz tinge Villette's elegant, unpretentious motets, sensitively performed here’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘This is simply gorgeous music which has not so much moments of sublime beauty as virtually no passages which aren't, both singly and cumulatively, utterly enchanting’ (International Record Review)

‘Whether chant-inspired, leaning towards a jazz idiom or chromaticism, the music is an unusual hybrid. The Holst Singers are eloquent and beguiling under the thoughtful direction of Stephen Layton’ (Choir & Organ)