News
Silence & Music: the reviews are in . . .
11 October 2017
The reviews are in, and critics are singing the praises of Silence & Music, our newest release on Winged Lion!
Fiona Maddocks of The Guardian lauds the disc as ‘beautifully produced in all respects … The opening song, Stanford’s The Blue Bird, uses a group of sopranos on the top line – apparently as the composer intended – instead of the usual soloist. The effect is arresting, and typical of the attention to text and score demonstrated by Paul McCreesh and his singers in each of these songs … These miniatures are rich, each in need of proper savouring.’
Writing in Gramophone Magazine Alexandra Coghlan calls Silence & Music ‘a clever mixture of moods – a disc that takes the part-song into the 21st century not only in repertoire but also in style,’ noting ‘the musical care and the easy, unforced shaping of lines from the Gabrielis is all the ornament works like Elgar’s There is sweet music and Howells’s The summer is coming need, and the two Vaughan Williams settings – Silence and Music and the expansive Rest – sit just the right side of sentimentality.’
The disc receives further praise in the FT – ‘enchantment sets in from the opening minutes…’ – and was named Choral & Vocal Choice in BBC Music Magazine‘s November issue with a double five-star rating!