Reviews

Record of the Week: 'The results are impressive ... The ensemble's wonderfully supportive, exploding with drama when it needs to.'

'For Dreyfus, the lines become 'characters' that the viols' voices bring to life. It is this subjective process of embodiment that is once again fascinating.'

'... with Moldovan violinist and vocalist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, there is no trace of doubt. With heart and soul and a sharp-edged diction, she throws herself, crackling and fumbling to the extreme nuances, into the surreal sound world of Pierrot lunaire ...'

'Musically, the English Concert’s Rodelinda is a near-flawless performance of one of Händel’s most inspired scores. It is also a vindication of the enduring pertinence of Händel’s genius.'

'What becomes of the austere, crystalline or monumental polyphonic architectures traced out by the harpsichord, clavichord or organ? Here they come alive with new characters and flashes of light, as if the dimensions were multiplying in a mysterious hallucination.'

'The 'Hut of Baba Yaga' here is one of the best available—fast, clear, accurate, and exciting.'

Recommended: 'Phantasm continue to dig deep into Bach’s music with stellar results. ... I can’t yet say what 2021 has in store but if I hear a better disc then it will have been a vintage year.'

'Justin Taylor's new family album not only enchants with its intelligent and varied selection of pieces, but above all the French harpsichordist's colourful and nuanced playing fascinates all along the line. THUMBS UP!'

'Lang gives a masterly account of the love that sizzles under the skin and at times breaks loose in the soloist's graceful, heavenly outbursts ... With her warm, full voice and excellent diction, Catriona Morison perfectly expresses the virtuoso vocal lines and underlying emotions.'