Purcell: Chacony in G minor - for Two Violins, Viola and Bass Z730

“Rosemary Joshua brings to these accounts all the aplomb of a Baroque diva, with her sharply etched diction, perspicuous dramatic insights and varied vocal timbres...It would be easy for Joshua to steal the show, but the instrumentalists respond to her pliant vocal lines with sensitively articulated continuo playing.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 *****

“Purcell is not known as a composer of sacred songs. The 24 here, all scored for a single high voice, come from two volumes published in his later years, which group the work of several composers but are dominated by Purcell’s. Some are less than 30 bars long, others sound almost cantata-like. All are intimate and varied in tone. Whether they were designed to be heard in sequence like this is questionable, but [Rosemary] Joshua brings them vividly to life” Financial Times, 21st April 2012

“Joshua brings vocal security and textual intelligence to these works and though a slightly flighty vibrato sometimes threatens the music's intimacy, it does not get in the way of superbly realised greater dramatic truth. The continuo accompaniments are as sensitively accomplished as one would expect from such a line-up...If this is a sober disc, it is also one which reeks of Purcell's genius.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012

“For a singer who began her career in the early 1990s, Joshua sounds astonishingly fresh — Emma Kirkby-like in the purity of her sound, although she brings a wider palette of colour to this kind of music than the veteran early-music diva ever did.” Sunday Times, 25th March 2012

“The word-painting of the sacred texts — involving angular leaps, florid melismas and a fluid mixture of declamation and gorgeous lyricism — is intense and detailed. Rosemary Joshua does it full justice, yet also seems to float, lithe and graceful, through it all. It’s a masterclass in delicate Baroque singing.” The Times, 19th May 2012 ****

“Ethereal yet visceral, Scholl's voice is the dream vehicle for Purcell...Stefano Montanari coaxes thrilling playing from Accademia Bizantina, who dance and swagger, throb and pulsate with true Latin passion. Their continuo realisations - here delicate and intimate, there audaciously jazzy - are an unceasing delight.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 *****

“that famously otherworldly tone [is] often breathtakingly in evidence...His decision to tackle Dido's lament has generated controversy: in fact, his performance is extraordinarily haunting...O Dive Custos is arguably the disc's high point. The Academia Bizantina, meanwhile, are on fine form for Stefano Montanari” The Guardian, 13th January 2011 ****

“Scholl understands the importance of words and remains the countertenor of choice: it’s not so much the intelligence and grace that make his artistry so instantly recognisable, as the hypnotically soothing quality of his voice...Among the many joys of this exceptional recital are the accompaniments by Accademia Bizantina.” Financial Times, 21st January 2011 *****

“Few counter-tenors maintain the width of repertoire or vocal acumen of this artist...his Cold Song from “King Arthur” [is] a shivering, juddering triumph, and the entire package pleases.” The Times, 22nd January 2011 ****

“his way with words has strengthened...the two countertenors combine marvellously in O dive custos” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011

“There's no doubt about the theatrical intent driving Scholl's interpretations and the flamboyant work of Italian period instrument band, Accademia Bizantina. The latter's lively continuo group and multi-hued sounds certainly catch the full flavour...few singers...can match him for style and intelligent musicianship in this repertoire.” Classic FM Magazine, March 2011 ****

“[The disc] contains much in the way of sympathetic vocal and instrumental colouring, not to mention some very fine singing and playing, full-stop...Stefano Montanari's stylish violin-playing [in Fairest Isle], as elsewhere, is a treat in itself...Scholl [brings] an animated, urgent quality to his performance, the tone rich and resonant, the diction razor-sharp.” International Record Review, April 2011

“Italianate sonatas to elegiac pavans. 20 years after it was recorded, London Baroque's disc of pieces orbiting the young Purcell's 1680 Fantazias remains stylish, intimate, insightful and founded on an ideal rapport.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2009

“Alla reveals herself as what these days could almost be termed an 'old-fashioned' early music singer, which is to say bell-like in tone and fearless in the use of non-vibrato...she shows impressive agility in the passagework of 'Date serta' but in general she still needs to take greater interpretative command and find a more generous way of shaping phrases.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2012