‘Outstanding’ (Which CD)

‘A very desirable record’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘65 minutes of pure, unclouded pleasure, deserving the widest possible hearing’ (Punch)

‘Excellent accounts of both these masterworks have never been scarce but one would have to search long and hard to find any that surpassed these … A treasurable release. Beautifully inflected, immaculately phrased, subtly coloured and impeccably responsive as well as eloquent’ (BBC Music Magazine Top 1000 CDs Guide)

‘Winning performances. Excellent recording’ (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

‘Lustrous and engaging performances’ (The Scotsman)

‘Sampson's ravishing soprano has all the sparkle and purity this music needs, and the King's Consort under Robert King provides a lively foundation’ (Financial Times)

‘Carolyn Sampson gives a characteristically stunning performance, with great drama, vocal flexibility and a wide range of expressive devices … the orchestra plays with great panache and precise articulation … King's choir sings with clarity and jubilation in their brief appearances, and over-all, this recording plays ideal tribute to the early mature sacred works of Mozart written in his late teens and early twenties’ (Early Music)

‘These devotional scores are models of understatement. Sampson floats exquisitely through the Agnus Dei of the Coronation Mass, maintains a serene line in Laudate Dominum from the Vespers, unearths two long settings of Regina caeli and indulgently duets with herself in Sub tuum praesidium’ (The Times)

«Quelle belle surprise! Carolyn Sampson nous livre un CD Mozart qui est non pas un modèle de chaleur, mais un disque de très bon goût, réussi en tout. On admirera aussi la finesse musicale de King, qui ne bouscule jamais le discours et dont les bois enrichissent très bien la palette sonore» (Classics Today France)

‘Robert King and his choral and orchestral forces give clean and direct performances in sound that is nicely balanced and benefits from the mellow acoustic of London's Cadogan Hall. The soprano focus of interest is Carolyn Sampson, whose musical sensibility and personality are exceptional … unreservedly recommended’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘What more could you want in these works than a soloist who places every note with joyous precision, moves from one to another so cleanly, and demonstrates at every turn such intelligent but unfussy musicianship? This is a sunny and unpretentious disc which deserves to be among the successes of the Mozart year’ (Gramophone)