Choral & Song Choice (May 2021) - “Riches has the versatility to sound at home in any language or musical idiom. He possesses a natural authority that never has to strive for effect, and his warm, supple bass-baritone is eminently ‘grounded’...In all, imaginatively plotted and beautifully recorded.” ★★★★★
“Both [Riches] and pianist Joseph Middleton take a robust approach to the animal world, even with Fauré’s butterflies and flowers. But he also effectively floats upper-range notes in Ravel’s more delicate moments.”
Editor’s Choice (February 2021) - “Riches summons a wide range of colours and character for this hugely appealing musical menagerie: Strauss’s Thrush and Fauré’s Butterfly are brought to life with an airy charm, Ravel’s guinea-fowl is properly pugnacious, and there’s plenty of sardonic bite (as well as real Slavic darkness) for Mussorgsky’s Flea and Cockroach; he and Middleton have a ball with Vernon Duke’s Musical Zoo, a series of tiny vignettes delivered with cabaret-esque flair and a pitch-perfect American accent.”