Penguin Guide Rosette Winners

“Handel recitals do not come much better than this... Glorious music, superlative singing.” The Telegraph

“Scholl at his inimitable best: superbly accomplished and fully inside each character in turn.” BBC Music Magazine

“Here is another guaranteed hit for this justifiably acclaimed German countertenor.” The Observer

“The highlights are the Serse, Alcina and Cesare arias: Handel doesn't come lovelier than this.” Sunday Times

“Scholl is pre-eminent among today's countertenors for the fine quality, roundness and power of his voice as well as for the artistry of its usage. In this new recital, the sheer opulence of tone impresses afresh, and its firmness make the more dramatic vibrancy of Daniel's seem somewhat loosely focused... the recitative in Admento shudders with the hopelessness of 'omai tornate', and, in the solo from Rodelinda, Bertardio confronts his own epitaph with convincing emotion.” Gramophone Magazine

“They take precedence over all the competition, both as performances and as recordings. The playing has wonderful life and warmth, tempi are always aptly judged, and although original instruments are used, this is authenticity with a kindly presence.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“I've seldom been as moved by a recording, both music and performance” BBC Music Magazine

“make one wish that all Handel music making could be of this order” MusicWeb International

“With panache [Gardiner] shows how authentic-sized forces can convey Handelian glamour even with sharply focused textures and fast speeds...the overriding glory is the singing of the Monteverdi Choir. Its clean, crisp articulation matches the brilliant playing of the English Baroque Soloists.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“With first-rate casts and careful attention to Handel's original texts, King has blown the dust off some magnificent music” CD Review

“From the 1940s until the early 1960s one of the greatest of regular British musical events (every bit as important as the Proms) was Malcolm Sargent's Messiah. He conducted it up and down the country, always to packed houses; indeed, to be able to attend the performance at Huddersfield Town Hall, you needed very special connections, for tickets were scarcer than an invitation to Buckingham Palace! Sargent usually omitted – as he does here – three numbers from Part 2 and four from Part 4. Even then, the performance time was two and a half hours without the interval. Apart from spacious tempos, He had his own ideas about Handelian style. Today we usually listen to a quite different kind of Messiah: brisker, often exchanging grandeur for exhilaration; so it's heart-warming to have the opportunity to return to a great tradition that Sargent kept alive for so many years.
This is made possible by one of Dutton Laboratories' most miraculous 78rpm transfers – the finest ever heard taken from 78s of any music – of Sargent's extraordinarily vivid and expansive recording (the most spontaneous of the three he made). The four splendid soloists – that queen of oratorio sopranos, Dame Isobel Baillie; the rich-voiced Gladys Ripley; the warmly lyrical James Johnson; and the vibrant Norman Walker are right inside their parts. But the star of the performance is undoubtedly Isobel Baillie. Her first entry in 'There were shepherds' is a truly ravishing moment, while her gloriously beautiful 'I know that my Redeemer liveth' has never been surpassed on record. Sargent opens the work with a sumptuous presentation of the Overture, while his tempos for the choruses now sound very slow to ears used to 'authenticity'.
He believed deeply in this music and he carried the listener with him. The hushed close of 'All we like sheep' almost brings tears to the eyes.
The sound itself is truly astounding. At bargain price it's an ideal investment for anyone who relishes an old-fashioned, large-scale approach to Handel's Messiah.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Dorati's famous integral recording of all 104 of the published Symphonies now returns in a Decca bargain box containing 33 CDs. It still holds its place in the catalogue as the only complete set to contain everything Haydn wrote in this medium, including the Symphonies 'A' and 'B', omitted from the original numbering scheme because at one time they were not thought to be symphonies at all. The survey also encompasses additional alternative movements for certain works (notably Nos 53 and 103) and alternative complete versions of the Philosopher Symphony and No 63, which are fascinating.
The remastering confirms the excellence of the vintage Decca sound. No more needs to be said, except that the one minus point in these very convincing modern-instrument performances is Dorati's insistence on measured, often rustic tempos for the minuets. For those who can run to the complete series this is self-recommending – a source of inexhaustible pleasure.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Dorati was ahead of his time as a Haydn interpreter when, in the early 1970s, he made this pioneering integral recording of the symphonies. Superbly transferred to CD in full, bright, immediate sound, the performances are a consistent delight.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“A superb achievement. It's nigh-on impossible to imagine better 'big-band' Haydn than you encounter here on Colin Davis's four well-filled CDs. His direction has exemplary sparkle and sensitivity. Minuets are never allowed to plod, outer movements have an ideal combination of infectious zip and real poise, and the humour is always conveyed with a genial twinkle in the eye.
Quite marvellous, wonderfully unanimous playing from the Amsterdam orchestra, too (the woodwind contributions are particularly distinguished), with never a trace of routine to betray the six-year recording span of this acclaimed project. The Philips engineering, whether analogue or digital, is of the very highest quality, offering a natural perspective, gloriously fullbodied tone and sparkling textures within the sumptuous Concertgebouw acoustic. Invest in this set: it will yield enormous rewards for years to come.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Marvellously alert Concertgebouw performances” The Times, 10th May 2013