Reviews

This impressive debut recording…create[s] a compelling album which demonstrates how music evolves and how works from different times and styles can interact and inspire new ideas. Hao plays…with a mixture of bravura and intensity of expression…fascinating and absorbing…

Because They Have Songs is not merely a catalogue of avian caricature, nor a travelogue in sound . It is a deeply personal meditation on the act of listening, of translating transitory encounters with the wild into lasting musical form. Cowie’s approach invites us to hear not just birdsong, but the emotional resonance of place, memory and artistic response. Whether taken in full flight or savoured movement by movement, this cycle rewards the curious ear and the imaginative soul. Like the birds themselves, it sings because it must – because it has songs.

This new CD features Lofstrom’s vocal music, beginning with three attractive scenes from his opera Two Soldiers…The rest of the album is a recital by the very capable and expressive American-born baritone Ryan De Ryke, accompanied ably by Daniel Schlosberg at the piano…intriguing album…

Mark Buller ponders a host of moral issues in these works performed by the sterling choral ensemble Conspirare. Conspirare, led by founding Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson, respond to all of Buller’s emotional gestures with utmost cohesion and flexibility, and the soloists – basses Michael Hawes and Simon Barrad and soprano Emily Yocum Black – are first-rate.

Haitham Haidar is a Lebanese-Palestinian-Canadian tenor with a memorably warm tone…a gripping communicator and charismatic musician. This touching and sensitive debut album presents a beautifully conceived programme. The resulting sound world is beautiful. This performance will stay with me for a long time…

…monumental piano release…Ian Pace is a leading interpreter of Finnissy’s work.

The narrative is always front and center in Woodhall’s concept, with textual clarity a priority, both for solo and choral writing. The choral group Cantores Lucis handles their multiple roles with distinction, offering a lovely, blended ensemble, crisp diction, and rhythmic verve…beautifully performed. Recommended.

Listening to these 14 tracks, I feel he’s onto something important. His voice has an unmannered directness which goes straight to the heart, whether it’s in Monteverdi’s ‘Nigra sum’ or in the sweet simplicity of a paean to Jesus commonly sung in Arab churches on Good Friday. And with four top-flight instrumentalists led by Abdul-Wahab Kayyali, two very different musical worlds become a serene, seamless single one. – (5 Stars and Vocal Choice for October 2025)

Conspirare carries this appealing interpretation above all with their exquisitely balanced sound, which brings the necessary emotionality and intimacy to the works.

All sorts of music by Lance Hulme…complex..abstract, contemplative…lively, dissonant. Fine playing by all.

Burkard Schliessmann’s invitation to encounter the core of Schumann presents performances that enrich the soul in a recording that is surely unparalleled.

a deeply original and uncompromising voice in contemporary composition. It not only pushes boundaries but also trusts the performer’s interpretative vision… a masterpiece of the 21st century for solo flute

…this is a valuable overview of the music of Lance Hulme, carefully programmed and well documented.

This music is so rich, so rewarding; performances are unwaveringly assured. A superb release.

…the success of each work in its own individual terms is testament of the fine work of the ensemble in its work with living composers. The documentation is exemplary. Sheppard Skærved’s detailed notes are a model of their kind, while the recordings are superb. This whole release screams fervent advocacy of the new. Unhesitatingly recommended.

Stevens’s music is richly expressive. Christine Townsend plays beautifully, flexible when required and staunchly determined elsewhere; Stephen Robbings is the perfect partner, and both are caught in a fine recording. Divine Art continues its valuable documentation of the music of Robin Stevens in style. Townsend and Robbings are a brilliant duo. Recommended.

Although I knew none of these works prior to hearing this disc, the performances of each one sound absolutely compelling to my ears, and surely will to other listeners who are well tuned to the advanced music of our era. To such aficionados I give a hearty recommendation of this very generously filled and well-recorded disc.

A superb release from all angles. Roger Reynolds’ music continues to enchant, and to challenge from a baseline of sonic beauty. The performances are faultless, as one has come to expect from Reumert and his associates. Magical.

[Zaytoun] will certainly subvert some listeners’ expectations.… its standing within the timeless global tradition of the “artist in search of self” brings forth universal themes that any listener can latch on to.

An entire, complex and sympathetic personality is on show…Rowland is a fluent guide, discreet though not entirely self-effacing and above all, as befits this music, elegant. Add to this a precise and atmospheric sound recording and you have a serious statement about a composer who deserves even wider recognition. **Editor’s Choice August 2025**