Howells: Requiem

“Layton's performances have exactly the poise and careful moulding that this rather fragile, deeply felt music needs.” The Guardian, 29th March 2012 ***

“Hyperion's disc...is all more impressive for dispelling the clouds of dissonance that have given Howell the bad name of a meandering mystic and letting us hear what a fine ear he had...Had good it is to hear the St Paul Service not swallowed up by the dome that cathedral but still buttressed by a mighty Willis beast, belonging in this case to Lincoln...This is a perfect disc of its kind.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2012

“In a work intended to console, it's important that the actual sound the choir makes is warmly consoling. It certainly is in this new Trinity College recording of Howells's 1932 Requiem...It's fascinating to note, too, the difference undergraduate voices make in this music...The purity of vibrato-free voices is again a major plus-point at the opening of the Gloucester Service...A superb one-stop introduction to Howells's choral music.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2012 *****

“Trinity's recording allow[s] the music to be served but not overwhelmed by the choir's first-rate technical ability...The Gloucester service is relaxed and smoothly flowing, though I do wonder whether it's all just a little too coolly handled” International Record Review, June 2012

“a glorious celebration of Howells' sacred output...Gorgeously sung throughout, this is repertoire perfectly suited to Trinity Choir's pure, chorister-like sound. Their graceful, dignified reading of the Requiem, framed within the wonderful acoustic of Ely Cathedral's Lady Chapel, is one to cherish.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 16th June 2012

“This is a concept album, a sequence of purgative music on the theme of death by a wide range of British composers from the English Renaissance to today.” Sunday Times, 11th March 2012

“The singing is immaculate...MacMillan's music is as technically demanding as it is emotionally powerful and it is a a wonder that these exceptional young singers make it all sound so effortless.” Classic FM Magazine, April 2012 *****

“For me, the highlight is Herbert Howells’s Requiem, grief seeping from every cadence. It’s beautifully sung by Paul McCreesh’s Gabrieli Consort in an acoustic that sounds aptly like a tomb but is, in fact, Ely Cathedral.” The Times, 17th March 2012 ****

“Any disc subtitled 'Music of Mourning & Consolation' is not going to be a bundle of laughs. But Paul McCreesh has devised such a satisfying programme of mostly short a cappella pieces that the effect is the reverse of depressing.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2012

“there are numerous indications of the elevated artistry Paul McCreesh and the 22 singers of his Gabrieli Consort bring to this beautifully planned and executed programme...There's also much emotion in the performances. McCreesh's choice of sopranos who either have little vibrato or can eliminate it when requested has a palpable impact...This is a superlative, unmissable issue.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2012 *****

“The perfect, and perfectly lovely, unity of Conspirare's choral tone was not entirely welcome. But they're not bland: their care for words and expression guards against that, as does their alertness to changes of mood, whether by movement or modulation. There is a constant assurance of intelligent direction.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2009

“As Conspirare, the Texas-based Company of Voices and pianist Craig Hella Johnson challenge Britain's choral mavens in this graceful reading of Howells' Requiem, with its sublime third and fifth movements.” The Independent on Sunday, 9th August 2009

“…Swedish group Sofia Vokalensemble… embrace this tradition as if they had grown up breathing the air of Westminster Abbey.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2009

‘A moving and impressive addition to the a cappella repertoire’ (The Daily Telegraph)

The imaginative registration, choral tone, recorded sound and written presentation are all admirable features of a highly recommendable disc’ (Gramophone)

"one of the most accomplished small choral groups of our time" Gramophone