Johannes Brahms

“When Victoria de los Angeles appeared at the Edinburgh Festival in 1957, she was in her prime, the voice as supple and sensitive as it was beautiful. Everything she tackled seemed to be touched by the magic of her attractive presence and glorious singing.
Good as her account of Schumann's Widmung may be, it's when she gets to Brahms, perhaps her favourite composer in this genre, that she's wholly at home, the wistful sense of pain in Nachtigall caught to perfection. In the wordless pieces by Stravinsky and Ravel she floats that warm yet ethereal tone of hers with consummate ease, and the long–breathed phrasing and excellent French in Duparc's mélodie are enhanced by this artist's innate skill in word–painting. For all that, audiences were always impatient for her to get to the Spanish part of her programme, for in this field she was unsurpassed as a singer and interpreter.
Many of these songs were also recorded by her in the studio, but the live occasion gives these performances an extra frisson. The encores are even better. An account of Clavelitos is a superior reading even to those famous ones available elsewhere.
That's complemented by a delightfully insouciant account of the Delibes song that she didn't attempt on any other recorded occasion.
Gerald Moore, as was his wont, manages to change idioms with his familiar virtuosity. As a whole, this is an invaluable addition to the singer's extensive discography.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“These players' tempo in the Clarinet Quintet is more leisurely than most of their rivals. In the faster flanking movements of the trio, a stronger forward drive mightn't have come amiss. On the other hand, they allow themselves time to savour every bar to the full. Strinking in both these performances is their underlying warmth of heart. You'll respond easily to their quality of good-natured, unforced civility. The ensemble is excellent, with the clarinet very much one of the team, never assuming the role of soloist in a quasi-chamber concerto.
Thea King's phrasing is unfailingly perceptive and stylish, and her undemonstrative, wise artistry in both works is most appealing. In the Trio, the sumptuous-sounding cello is impressive, which at times makes you feel that Brahms could just as well have called the work a cello trio. This is a disc which will bear frequent repetition. Playing such as this, committed and serious, yet at the same time relaxed and spontaneous, isn't easy to contrive in the recording studio, and Hyperion has done well to capture these interpretations on the wing.
The sound is very good indeed, mellow and natural.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“a radiantly beautiful performance of the Clarinet Quintet, as fine as any put on record, expressive and spontaneous-sounding, with natural ebb and flow of tension as in a live performance” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Completed after the First Piano Concerto, but still comparatively early works, the Sextets are typified by lush textures, ardent emotion, and wonderfully memorable melodic lines. The first is the warmer, more heart-on-the-sleeve piece, balancing with complete naturalness a splendidly lyrical first movement, an urgent, dark set of intricate variations, a lively rustic dance of a Scherzo, and a placidly flowing finale. The second inhabits at first a more mysterious world of half-shadows, occasionally rent by glorious moments of sunlight. The finale, however, casts off doubt and ends with affirmation. Both works are very susceptible to differing modes of interpretation, and the Raphael Ensemble has established distinctive views of each, allowing the richness of the texture its head without obscuring the lines, and selecting characteristically distinct tone qualities to typify the two works.
The recording is clear and analytic without robbing the sound of its warmth and depth. An impressive recording début for this ensemble.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“the Raphael Ensemble are fully responsive to [the Sextets'] vitality and warmth. In short these are superb performances, and the recording is very vivid and immediate.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition