Schütz: Selig sind die Toten, SWV391

“From early-Baroque Germany no more heart-felt funeral meditation exists than Schütz's Exequien, supplemented here by six exquisite motets. This superb chamber-scale performance still merits the accolades showered on it over 20 years ago.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2009 *****

“The warmth and clarity of John Eliot Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir makes it a compelling exponent of the two Schütz works presented here...the Brahms begins beautifully with an even richer choral sound...[Denn alles Fleisch] can often get bogged down with overbearing morbidity. Not so here, thanks to Gardiner's agile, slow-waltz tempo and choral dexterity.” Graham Rogers, bbc.co.uk, 7th March 2012

“Schütz’s radiant Psalm 84, gloriously sung by the Monteverdi Choir, almost steals the show here...The big C major fugue [of the Requiem] is particularly rousing and the lovely Wie lieblich exquisite. Gardiner is right that Brahms demands flexibility of tempo, but overdoes it in the final number, missing the grand sweep of the opening melody with too fast a tempo.” Sunday Times, 26th February 2012

“The choral ensemble is superb; intonation perfect. Gardiner's instrumentalists' meticulous attention to authentic performance style adds a further dimension to a glorious reading of this beautiful piece. Highly recommended.” The Observer, 26th February 2012

“Gardiner's forces are marshalled with care, the Monteverdi Choir as uplifting as on his series of Bach Cantatas, while the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique lives up to its name in its emotional subtlety.” The Independent, 2nd March 2012 ****

“The recorded sound has great immediacy, and the chorus produces a beautifully sustained and richly coloured vocal tone. Gardiner's flexibility in tempo, phrasing and dynamics (which Brahms favourted) pays dividends...Matthew Brook's dark-hued baritone is excellent for the role...Katharine Fuge's fresh, youthful voice adds a piercing pathos to 'Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit'” BBC Music Magazine, May 2012 ****

“Brook might not be the high-cholesterol baritone often favoured in classic recordings...but a hint of reediness in his tone seems appropriate for one yearning to know the measure of his days...The star of the German Requiem, though, it always the choir. You know you're in safe hands with the Monteverdis and the pitch-perfect top A at 2'04''...absolutely confirms it...a minutely considered, dramatic and, in places, aptly disturbing performance.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2012

“This is a very impressive new recording....Gardiner conducts with warmth and the textures of the work...have a vibrancy and immediacy that is wholly to its advantage...he makes a compelling case for his tempo choices...this new version is uncommonly good, and will surely delight anyone wanting to hear the German Requiem on period instruments.” International Record Review, May 2012

“Gardiner's smooth, lean approach works well in a vividly alive performance” Classical Music, 7th April 2012 ***

“…these are dedicated performances. They sometimes sound as if they could date from the 1950s or '60s, but many listeners will surely welcome that mellower, less athletic approach.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2009 ****

“A pleasing anthology that delivers what it promises. …the Cambridge Singers… don’t disappoint… The instrumentalists from La Nuova Musica are sensible and sensitive accompanists…” Gramophone Magazine, October 2009

“John Rutter's pristine arrangements are realised to sublime effect by The Cambridge Singers. The occasional early-music settings of La Nuova Musica offer intriguing insights into the authentic period sound of stile nuovo pieces such as Monteverdi's "Beatus vir" and Buxtehude's "Magnificat".” The Independent, 10th April 2009 ****

“The wonderfully sleek Cambridge Singers, under their founder John Rutter, make light work of this choral polyphony from continental Europe that sprang from the Catholic and Protestant Reformation, an era that saw the beguiling tunefulness of street music and opera permeate works written for the liturgy.” The Observer, 26th April 2009

“There can be nothing but praise for the excellence of these performances, for the quality and choice of the music itself and, most of all, for the gorgeous sound quality of these recordings made in Ely Cathedral. Add to this some eminently readable booklet–notes and we have a real winner, even if the overall aural effect bears a striking resemblance to those ubiquitous inoffensive compilation discs played in hotel lobbies the world over.
Within the basic theme of death and the soul's subsequent journey to paradise the music juxtaposes chunks of plainsong and standard cathedral choir repertoire with some rather more esoteric choral pieces. Whether it's the ancient plainchant In paradisum, Psalm 121 sung to Walford Davies's fine Anglican chant, William Harris's richly textured anthem Faire is theHeaven or the almost erotically indulgent arrangement by Timothy Brown of Steal Away, Clare College Choir distinguish it all with finely crafted and beautifully shaped performances that aren't just note–perfect but intensely perceptive as well. There's no hint of the sickliness we sometimes experience when church music is exposed to such slick professionalism on disc – rather a real sense of wonder and awe at the timeless beauty of the programme.
It's difficult to listen to the disc in its entirety without falling into some kind of soporific trance, but taken individually each piece is, in its own way, as dramatic and earth–shaking as the garish blue cover leads us to suspect.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010