Reviews

A superb introduction, in fine recorded sound, to the music of Seán Doherty. Performances are utterly faultless throughout.

There is a hypnotic beauty to much of Hakim’s music on this collection. His blending of religious inspiration, rhythmic vitality, melodic inspiration, and imagination all add up to a deeply engaging experience. Gwendeline Lumaret…plays with impeccable intonation, a varied and colorful sound, and a consistent sense of drama.

This is some of the finest choral writing from a living composer I have heard in years. This is powerful, varied music, a masterclass in how to set poetry, heard in the strongest possible performances.

The Choir of the Church of the Advent, Boston, and pianist Chengcheng Ma, led by conductor Mark Dwyer, perform the Lister works in exemplary fashion, with clear diction and a lovely, exquisitely blended sonority. Recommended.

The performances by the Choir of the Church of the Advent in Boston, conducted by Mark Dwyer, are technically impeccable and do full justice to Lister’s inspirations. Mention should also be made of the accompanist, Chengcheng Ma, who shapes, bends, and phrases the music impeccably while fulfilling his duty to support the chorus. Each piece is moving in its own way, and together they make up a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Warmly and engagingly recommended.

sensitive, warm performances by cellist Catherine Wilmers and pianist Jill Morton…make this an attractive release.

The performances are strong, the recorded sound is natural, the program notes are helpful. There is not a single work that I was not glad to encounter, and I will return in the future…

Honma is an excellent pianist…her scrupulous interpretation…makes each listening experience…unique

…one of the best song recitals in recent memory, as enjoyable as it is revelatory.

Pianist Richard Shaw…is…superb. Gerard McChrystal makes his saxophones chirrup, twitter or sing smoothly…Together, the two performers bring both the birds and their backgrounds in the African veldt brilliantly to life.

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.