“What riches and pleasures this two-disc set contains…Throughout, pianist Joseph Middleton’s playing is exemplary in its unassertive light-tough clarity, and a superb sextet of young singers offers ideal freshness and variety of timbre and colour…like a box of expensive chocolates, everything one picks out has its own distinctive flavour and charm.” ★★★★★
“Middleton’s playing is precisely coloured and characterised.” ★★★★
“There is no weak link among the singers, although Clayton’s tenor and Rose’s rich bass especially impress. Common to all, of course, is pianist Joseph Middleton, refined and adept, for whom this is clearly a labour of love. Excellent recorded sound.” ★★★★★
“The mellifluous Allan Clayton and Joseph Middleton make no apologies for it. The colours they bring to the music are unashamedly Romantic and Middleton, whose vivid playing is a catalyst throughout the disc, lets himself go in Britten’s scene-painting…For Britten, this counts as a highly persuasive new release.”