8 June 2024
AllMusic, USA, James Manheim
Queen of Hearts
Studio Master: CDA68453  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘The performances are gorgeous, as usual, from The Gesualdo Six, and Hyperion's sound from St George's Church, Chesterton, Cambridge, adds beautiful layering. This altogether compelling Renaissance release hit classical best-seller charts in the summer of 2024’ (AllMusic, USA)

7 June 2024
AllMusic, USA, James Manheim
Schubert: String Quartets D112 & 887
Studio Master: CDA68423  RECORD OF THE MONTH   Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘This release is a standout … another draw is Hyperion's sound from the Wyastone Estate Concert Hall, a flawlessly appropriate venue. This is wonderful Schubert by any standard, but what is most compelling is that the Takács Quartet, at it since the late '80s, continues to think and to learn’ (AllMusic, USA)

7 June 2024
The Times, Geoff Brown
Schubert: String Quartets D112 & 887
Studio Master: CDA68423  RECORD OF THE MONTH   Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘The [Takács Quartet's] defining qualities—fire, poetry, clarity, balance—never change. The principal work on their latest release is Schubert's String Quartet No 15—one of his most grandiose. It's spellbinding from the opening, when a tussle between major and minor keys gives way to a calm landscape pre-echoing passages in Bruckner symphonies. Schubert springs surprises, but the Takács players take everything in their stride’ (The Times)

6 June 2024
The Guardian, Erica Jeal
Sibelius & Prokofiev: Violin Concertos
Studio Master: 4854748  Download only  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Jansen’s first concerto recording in nine years is worth the wait, not least thanks to her obvious rapport with the conductor Klaus Mäkelä’ (The Guardian)

6 June 2024
De Volkskrant, Netherlands, Maartje Stokkers
Sibelius & Prokofiev: Violin Concertos
Studio Master: 4854748  Download only  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

'De fijnbesnaarde samenwerking tussen Janine Jansen en Klaus Mäkelä is gewoonweg sensationeel' (De Volkskrant, Netherlands)

1 June 2024

Grieg: Holberg Suite, Ballade & Lyric Pieces
Studio Master: CDA68424  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Andrey Gugnin has arrived at an ideal variety … any monotony in repeats is avoided by Gugnin’s hypersensitive touch: listen to the way, for example, he leads back to the main idea of 'Butterfly'. The tender inwardness of ‘In my native country’—surely the perfect encore—and ‘Erotikon’ could hardly be treated more poetically. A well-placed collection of multifacted jewels’ (BBC Music Magazine)

1 June 2024

Grieg: Holberg Suite, Ballade & Lyric Pieces
Studio Master: CDA68424  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Gugnin ripples his way through the Holberg Suite in its original piano solo guise, radiating poise, affection and respect for its Golden Age retrospection … Gugnin lavishes immense sympathy and finesse on [the Ballade], keeping a close eye on the balance and emotional logic of the variations, and making a persuasive case that its absence from the concert hall is very much our loss … the Lyric Pieces, it might be thought, need no special advocacy, given the standards set over the years by the likes of Gilels, Andsnes, Hough and Kozhukhin. But advocacy can take many forms, and Gugnin’s is as special as anyone’s as he follows Grieg’s flights of fancy into nature, mood-pictures and dreamscapes with equal acuity’ (Gramophone)
1 June 2024

La Hèle: Missa Praeter rerum seriem & works by Manchicourt, Payen & Rogier
Studio Master: CDA68439  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘The well-upholstered choral sound is always focused … from Manchicourt’s ravishingly luminous Osculetur me to the mellow soundworld of Payen’s Virgo prudentissima, revelations abound’ (BBC Music Magazine)

1 June 2024

La Hèle: Missa Praeter rerum seriem & works by Manchicourt, Payen & Rogier
Studio Master: CDA68439  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘The great strength of this recording is the transparency of its textures, which allows the parts to come through individually while preserving the monumentality that such a scoring obviously motivates—all the more remarkable given the size of the choir, which is large by modern standards in this repertoire (nearly 40-strong). That is due to canny direction and a bright acoustic, which together achieve a sound strongly reminiscent of Cupertinos. That will be recommendation enough to lovers of Iberian (or indeed Franco-Flemish) polyphony … the clarity and precision of these interpretations is very satisfying’ (Gramophone)
1 June 2024

Padovano: Missa A la dolc' ombra & Missa Domine a lingua dolosa
Studio Master: CDA68407  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Cinquecento as one of the current premiere all-male vocal ensembles find much beauty and intricacy in Padovano’s ‘highly consonant’ style, reminding me that I once wrote: 'Their sound is reminiscent of The Hilliard Ensemble, particularly in the delightful interplay of their two well-matched tenors and the warmth of the overall blend captured through a close, warm recording technique'. This still holds today, as the ensemble’s skilful blend is a happy marriage to Padovano’s ars perfecta flow. They also handle transition moments well, as best heard in the opening Kyrie of Missa A la dolc’ ombra, which cadences on a shimmering top-heavy chord so that the Christe section feels inevitable … Cinquecento at their best’ (Gramophone)
1 June 2024
The Early Music Show, Mark Seow
Queen of Hearts
Studio Master: CDA68453  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘The G6 boys—as they like to call themselves—are really making a name for themselves with these highly polished and inventive programmes, and this album is no exception … they have a knack of making you feel like you're the only one listening to their music … wonderful, intimate singing’ (The Early Music Show)
1 June 2024

Russian Variations
Studio Master: CDA68428  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘The meatiest and finest work here—also the best played—is the Rachmaninov, which Lane executes with transparently more freedom and pure relish. There is much to admire here, from the judicious pacing and depth of tone to the way he plays the heartbreaking Var 16 (one of the composer’s loveliest inspirations) and the exultant conclusion. For once, we get the presto final-page ending, which is surely what the work deserves’ (Gramophone)
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