«Les interprétations de Brabbins sont proches de l’idéal et les musiciens écossais servent leur compatriote avec ferveur et précision» (Monde de La Musique)

‘Excellent singing and committed playing on this disc’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘His music, touched by post-echoes of Brahms, Mendelssohn and Wagner, yet speaking unmistakably in its own accent, lives on in this outstandingly recorded new issue’ (HMV Choice)

‘Dedicated performances beautifully recorded and fervently commended’ (Yorkshire Post)

‘The work’s surviving fragments receive their premiere recording on this Hyperion disc, which sees Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony doing a terrific job on behalf of the composer’ (Music Week)

‘The works here show the power and intensity of a major talent’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘My reactions to the music, even after listening to the disc for some weeks, still oscillate between amazement, melancholy, and gratitude, although they are gradually melding into a fusion of all three. I don’t doubt that it will affect you too’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Coles’s own orchestral skills are amply demonstrated by the lush, full-bodied playing of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Hyperion Records are to be applauded for resurrecting Behind the lines and the other works included here … all is beautifully played and sung, and warmly recommended’ (The Western Front Association)

‘It surely deserves a place in the repertory: English music has nothing quite like it’ (The Sunday Telegraph)

‘The six pieces recorded here justify the mourning of an unfulfilled talent’ (International Record Review)

‘This handsomely presented disc is a rarity worth investigating’ (The Observer)