Gorecki: Totus Tuus, Op. 60

“the quality of the individual voices, their complete skill in the art of choral singing and the mature musicianship evident across the choir would make this exceptional in any context...my purely critical response is that this is fabulous. It counts among the most assured, compelling and intuitive recordings yet of Gorecki's choral music...performances of consummate authority” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012

“The whole programme is outstandingly well sung...The most memorable and beautiful moments, of which there are many, tend to be when the choir is singing quietly and in the lower register.” International Record Review, July 2012

“The fresh, full-throated voices of the massed National Youth Choir of Great Britain under Michael Brewer are wonderfully affirmative and extrovert.” The Observer, 1st April 2012

“Gorecki may not be a minimalist in the strict sense of the term, but his choral works, in these beautiful interpretations by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain under Mike Brewer, are all about deriving maximum impact from minimal material...The minimalism reaches its apogee in the final section of "Salve, Sidus Polonorum"...Breathtaking.” The Telegraph, 6th April 2012

“Górecki’s majestic, slow, sacred music is sung with great control and technique by the massed voices of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain.... The clarity of the textures, the security of the pitching: both are impeccable.” The Times, 31st March 2012 ****

“An achingly beautiful selection” Classic FM Magazine

“Time and again in this profoundly sentient collection of Marian compositions the Gabrieli Consort effectively bypass the whole self-orientated notion of 'performance', drawing the listener into what, in many of these pieces, is essentially a process of prayer through music. Not all is meditatively reverential, however... James MacMillan's superbly dramatic Seinte Mari Moder Milde is in places fiercely, burningly imprecatory in its impact. It's magnificently sung here by the Gabrieli Consort, whom Paul McCreesh directs with passion and dedication...” BBC Music Magazine, January 2009 *****

“'My intention was to create a collection of private meditations highlighting the key events of Mary's life,' writes Paul McCreesh, 'Like the Book ofHours, it would consist of works intended for metaphysical reflection: for revealing and and commenting on the ineffable.' It's a tremendously rewarding sequence, some 13 items in all spanning no fewer than 600 years, and so cannily programmed that temporal and stylistic boundaries shift and sometimes evaporate altogether: prepare to marvel at the way Josquin's Ave Maria,Virgo serena follows on so naturally from Sir John Tavener's ravishing A Hymn to the Mother of God.
Tavener is one of five living figures represented, the contributions by Giles Swayne, Thomas Adès and James MacMillan adding a not unwelcome element of astringency to the mix and contrasting boldly with the transcendent diatonic radiance of Górecki's Totus tuus.
There can be nothing but praise for the breathtaking assurance and responsiveness of McCreesh's singers throughout.
Emanating from the magically apt surroundings of Ely Cathedral's Lady Chapel, the sound is as atmospheric and voluptuous as can be imagined, though the formidable resonance means that the words are not always ideally clear. But that's about the only grumble, for this is indeed a glorious CD.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Marian worship reaches giddy heights of bliss in this gloriously sung survey. There can be nothing but praise for the breathtaking assurance and responsiveness of McCreesh's singers throughout… Emanating from the magically apt surroundings of Ely Cathedral's Lady Chapel, the sound is as atmospheric and voluptuous as can be imagined...” Gramophone Magazine, March 2009

“Two years ago Paul McCreesh and his choir released a beautifully conceived album on the theme of pilgrimage, interleaving Tudor polyphony with 20th-century British a cappella settings. Now he and the Gabrieli Consort have attempted the same thing using music composed in honour of the Virgin Mary, though this time they have cast their historical net far wider. As before, Renaissance masterpieces provide the spine. But this time a range of traditions is represented; there is an Ave Maria by Josquin, and a motet by his contemporary Jean Mouton, as well as Palestrina's monumental Stabat Mater and some anonymous pieces. The modern settings of Marian texts are even more disparate. John Tavener and Giles Swayne rub shoulders with Herbert Howells and Thomas Adès, and the disc ends with James MacMillan, Grieg, Bax and Gorecki. Choral forces vary from eight singers to over 30, and the recorded sound from Ely Cathedral is consistently glorious; but the musical mixture seems just a bit too eclectic.” The Guardian, 20th February 2009 ***

“Sung throughout with sensitivity to style, this themed programme reveals the reverence and the rapture the Virgin Mary has inspired in music over the centuries.” The Telegraph, 23rd February 2009

“A batch of 20th-century masterpieces, in authoritative performances featuring some of Britain's best choirs.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2013 ****

“this selection of arrangements for eight voices shows the group's undoubted vocal pedigree” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2012 ****

“they offer polished and well-nigh flawless singing. The tone, however, seems rather ‘white’; frequently I found myself longing for a bit less studied technical perfection and a bit more by way of grit and feeling; much of this disc seems too smooth and effortless.” MusicWeb International, November 2012

“There’s nowhere to hide in a vocal octet, and VOCES8’s singing is faultless – jaw-droppingly so in places...The traditional numbers are skillfully and tastefully arranged. Everything is dispatched with affection and palpable sincerity; another Christmas anthology you can imagine listening to in July.” Financial Times, 22nd December 2012

“This collection of mainly unaccompanied litanies and prayers will appeal far beyond the classical or Christian fold” Financial Times, 30th June 2012

“Blend, unanimity, dynamics: this CD is gratifyingly strong on the eternal verities of good choral singing...this imaginatively programme disc marks the Exultate Singers out as a choir to be reckoned with.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 ****

“The choir doesn't really have the force needed to raise the roof in the middle of the Rachmaninov, but this is a refreshingly straightforward reading that benefits from conductor David Ogden's refusal to take the piece too slowly...The recording is full and rich, beautifully balanced and clear, with an attractive church acoustic.” International Record Review, September 2012