Bo Holten

“As an unashamed neo-romantic, Holten responds magnificently to a wider range of love lyrics throughout the album...In terms of pure vocal pleasure, Holten's arrangements of one of Mahler's Rückert-Lieder takes the first prize...Well worth exploring.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013

“The performances under the composer’s own direction must surely be definitive. Certainly there need be no reservations on account of the performance standards since the Flemish Radio Choir here shows itself to be a highly accomplished and flexible ensemble. The recorded sound is very good, showing the performances in the best possible light” MusicWeb International, 2nd May 2013

“…though, this is a disc of stunning music beautifully performed.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2009 ****

“Sanctum est verum lumen… comes across as an astonishing tour de force, the strands of musical texture cascading through this cast choir with glorious luminosity. These young singers take the work to heart and beyond the almost incredible choral discipline and uniformity of tone that Brewer produces from well over 200 individual voices, there is a real sense of enthusiasm which never intrudes into the technical security of the performance but adds a lovely lustre to Delphian's luxuriant recording. It is... unusual to hear Spem in alium performed with... between five and six voiced per part. ...if one is prepared to put thoughts of authenticity aside, the results are spine-tinglingly spectacular.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2009

"excellent performances and the organ contributions by Robert Quinney are all splendid … Enthusiastically recommended ..." Musicweb

“Bo Holten has written a substantial corpus of choral music but, as he observes in his notes to the recording, 'the tonal style of my writing has not really seemed politically correct to the bodies commissioning music in Denmark'. While many composers who have written large amounts of choral music in many countries would say substantially the same thing, it should not be forgotten that Holten is also an accomplished orchestral composer. Indeed, the two worlds come together in the Tallis Variations (1976). At least, they are intended to come together though it's hard to explain the feeling of incompleteness that remains after such a promising clash of sound worlds of strings and choir.
Many of the other works recorded here also draw on Holten's extensive knowledge of early music (particularly Renaissance polyphony) but perhaps the most successful work on the disc is one of the oddest, defying easy categorisation: Ebbe Skammelsøn (2001) is based on an old Danish ballad and is a kind of mini-opera featuring choir, 12 soloists and solo trombone. The trombone's psychological commentary lends an extraordinary strangeness to the piece, interacting and at the same time somehow defining the ritualistic anger of the work as conveyed by the singers. The grandiose (and technically challenging) setting of Edith Södergran's Triumf att finnas till provides a fitting conclusion to this accomplished, varied and magnificently sung collection.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“absolutely first-class musicianship ... for sheer vocal beauty, you can't beat the performances ... The whole thing is just gorgeous, and if you love Christmas music recordings, well, what are you waiting for? This is one of the best ever” Classics Today