Enchantresses
Georg Friedrich Händel
Emneord
Anmeldelser (7)
Classics today
d. 25. sep. 2007
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David Vernier
d. 25. sep. 2007
"This is a first-rate combination of performing forces and works, a pleasing mix of 17 instrumental and vocal pieces (some for solo voice and viols, others choral) that includes well-known anthems ... and David Skinner's own edition of the rarely heard Second Service ... Byrd enthusiasts should not hesitate to plunge in to what turns out to be one of the more uplifting, engagingly programmed, expertly performed 71 minutes of music I've heard in a long time".
MusicWeb international
2023 January
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Gary Higginson
2023 January
"Recommended: It is an excellent plan to put together two great composers who left this world within a few months of each other ... The programme contains not only secular but some sacred pieces, among them two well-known anthems on the first and last track ... The performances show imagination and variety ... This disc is a one-off, intelligently planned. It is also superbly performed. The King's Singers are on the best form I have heard them for sometime. Fretwork, naturally, may be the finest viol consort around".
BBC music magazine
2007 October
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Berta Joncus
2007 October
"This disc is a benchmark - of interpretation, scholarship and programming ... It is above all the conviction of the performance - its flawless ensemble, radiant boy trebles and sensitivity to implied rhetoric - that carries the argument".
BBC music magazine
2023 February
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Anthony Pryer
2023 February
"Choral & song choice: The title 'Tom and Will' refers to two of our greatest Renaissance composers, Thomas Weelkes and William Byrd ... From Weelkes we have the immensely subtle Hark all ye lovely saints, set to springy, vertiginous changes of metre beautifully negotiated by the singers, and his In nomine a 4, performed in a delightfully skittish manner by Fretwork ... This new release is one of the finest recordings of this repertoire and can be warmly recommended".
Diapason
2023 mai
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Guillaume Bunel
2023 mai
Fono Forum
2023 Juni
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Reinmar Emans
2023 Juni
"Die King's Singers betören mit ihrem intonationssicheren Chorgesang, lassen aber auch grössere Solostrecken zu, bei denen ein jeder der sechs Herren sich einmal präsentieren darf. Wie gut ihre Stimmen dann aber wieder miteinander verschmelzen und ihren eigenen wohltuenden, sehr schön vom Bass grundierten Sound erreichen, lässt ihre Ausnahmetalent erkennen. Besser kann man das wohl nicht machen. Die Farbtupfer, die Fretwork bei einigen Stücken beisteuert, sind gleichwohl willkommen ... packend und überzeugend umgesetzt".
The gramophone
2023 February
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Alexandra Coghlan
2023 February
"The USP here lies in pairing Byrd with his anniversary-mate Thomas Weelkes, who also died in 1623 ... Putting the two composers head to head requires a broad musical view, taking in madrigals (mostly Weelkes), consort songs (mostly Byrd), sacred anthems and music for viol consort - a 'garden of musical delights' ... It's a lovely pairing: Fretwork all rasp and twist and tremor, a consort tone of plunging, vertical depth, against the smooth blend and polished horizontal lines of The King's Singers. We get both grit and gloss in the shared pieces".