Purcell: Jehova, quam multi sunt hostes, Z135

“Vibrant readings of some of Purcell's best loved choral works unalloyed by 'authentic' prissiness” BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 ****

“The impact of Inia Te Wiata's entry in They that go down to the sea in ships is almost sensational … Outstanding among the soloists is the counter-tenor, Charles Brett. The orchestral playing is sprightly, the choral singing polished” Gramophone Magazine

“The performances are excellent. James Bowman is in splendid voice and he is well matched by Charles Brett (in this music, the others are really a supporting cast to the countertenors). The orchestra plays with its usual sensitivity of tone and nuance. As for Mr. Guest, he understands the Funeral Sentences in no mean manner, for it is easy to overdo the pain or to adopt the stiff upper lip, yet he manages to combine the two in goodly proportion” Gramophone Magazine

“The Abbey choir, under James O’Donnell, conveys the thrill of Purcell’s music and the whole disc is marked by crucial attention to the articulation of words and to the careful balancing of choral sonorities.” The Telegraph, 9th April 2010 ****

“Throughout every work O'Donnell's direction is alive to the sophisticated vocal layering, and ever attentive to the meaning of the words - an innate musicality echoed in Robert Quinney's 'voluntary contributions', despatched with nimble virtuosity and a beguiling shapeliness.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2010 ****

“Overall, it's a surprisingly varied programme...The organ voluntaries add spice to the mix, bearing as some of them do the stamp of Italianate influence.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2010

“Clear and uncluttered sound, the antiphonal effects nicely caught in a faultless Hyperion recording” International Record Review

“Throughout, the choral sound is rich yet unfailingly transparent… the solo work is equally impressive - listen for example, to tenors Simon Berridge and Mark Dobell and bass Eamonn Dougan in Purcell's Let mine eyes run down with tears or sopranos Grace Davidson and Charlotte Mobbs in the same composer's splendid O dive custos. ..."Bright Orb of Harmony" deserves to be set among that constellation of previous dazzling recordings by an ensemble that is less a choir, more an institution.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2009

“Purity of voice, a tightly blended ensemble — the warming characteristics of Harry Christophers’s choir dominate this live recital, recorded in Guildford Cathedral. Four hundred years separate Purcell from James MacMillan, yet these composers suit each other, both skilled in penitential expression and harmonic daring. MacMillan commemorates the 1996 Dunblane shootings; the teenage Purcell writes Funeral Sentences — exquisite music in both cases.” The Times, 9th May 2009 ****

“Purcell's funeral and penitential liturgical settings contain some of the most heart-rending music in the choral repertory. MacMillan's tribute to his 16th century fellow-Scot O bone Jesu… holds up well, building to a glowing ending which, like all the MacMillan pieces on this disc, shows how deeply this composer understands the expressive and acoustic possibilities of the a cappella choir. Best of all though is the exquisite miniature A Child's Prayer. Excellent performances, sensitively recorded.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2009 *****

“These performances were recorded live during the opening concert of The Sixteen's 2009 Choral Pilgrimage to celebrate both Purcell's 350th birthday and Scottish composer James MacMillan's 50th. Thus, while the anthems, motets and the first set of Funeral Sentences by Purcell presented here definitely tend towards the sombre, and MacMillan's musical language often has recourse to a stark muscularity, the darkness invariably gives way to light in the form of ecstatic melismas and lucent major-mode harmonies.
Throughout, the choral sound is rich yet unfailingly transparent – as obvious in the opening Jehova quam multi sunt hostes mei of Purcell as in MacMillan's masterly O bone Jesu. But the solo work is equally impressive – listen, for example, to tenors Simon Berridge and Mark Dobell and bass Eamonn Dougan in Purcell's Let mine eyes run down with tears or sopranos Grace Davidson and Charlotte Mobbs in the same composer's splendid O dive custos.
Christophers's direction is, as always, forever alert to the relationship between words and music – especially close with these two composers – while ensuring the careful delineation of the overall musical structure and each phrase, period and paragraph within it. Some minor blemishes aside, 'Bright Orb of Harmony' deserves to be set among that constellation of previous dazzling recordings by an ensemble that is less a choir, more an institution.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Christophers paces [Tradiderunt me] to perfection, enabling The Sixteen to luxuriate in its rich sonorities and shape effortless phrases, each apparently voiced on a single undying breath...This terrific release offers a nourishing blend of recent Macmillan, beautifully performed and recorded, spanning the gamut from prayer-like introspection and harmonic simplicity to festive outbursts and bravura melodic displays.” Classic FM Magazine, December 2011 *****

“Christie and his performers bring the perfect balance of intimacy and intensity to this repertoire. Paul Agnew conveys the essence of these songs with poetic expressivity… while the treble-like soprano of Hannah Morrison is the perfect instrument for Purcell's sublime Evening Hymn, which she sings with artless naivety. Divine, indeed.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2007 *****

“I would say that any disc which offered such a 24-carat Purcell selection in performances even half as good as these would be hard to resist.” Gramophone Magazine

“this glorious, darkly intense funeral music is given an outstandingly fresh and clear rendition, vividly recorded, matching even the finest rival versions. The sharpness of focus in the sound means that Purcell's adventurous harmonies with their clashing intervals are given extra dramatic bite in these dedicated performances, marked by fresh, clear soprano tone in place of boy trebles.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition