Tomkins - When David Heard

It is clear that this is something really special. That specialness comes not just from the fact that The Sixteen elevate everything they perform through their opulent musicality and supreme... — Gramophone Magazine, November 2015 More…

The line-up might play safe, but it’s all exquisitely done, collegiate smoothness and blend to the fore. And what blend! The harmonic voicing is immaculate yet always sensitive to the imperatives... — BBC Music Magazine, June 2018, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Much of the music on this excellent recording was composed during Tomkins's final decade, before his death in 1656 in relative obscurity... At all times, the Oxford Camerata, led by Jeremy Summerly,... — Tarik O' Regan, The Observer, 16th January 2000 More…

The career of Thomas Tomkins straddled several reigns as well as the Cromwell era and this had an impact on his music, which otherwise reflects the influence of his mentor, William Byrd. Vocal... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

a varied treasure trove of seldom heard but extremely affecting music, nicely sung and spliced together with some darkly-glittering string In Nomines played by Fretwork...[They] easily persuade... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2012, 4 out of 5 stars More…

This is a beautifully programmed and performed disc…Graham Ross takes a full-on approach, with tempos brisk and passions raised – mezzo Jennifer Johnson’s ‘Pie Jesu’ is, in particular, an emotional... — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2016, 5 out of 5 stars More…