Requiem / etc

"Soft, consolatory, warmly glowing: that's the atmosphere created by Gabriel Jackson in the opening mvoement of his Requiem...The Vasari Singers grip [the Pott] with evident relish and commitment, producing the CD's most potently arresting performance." BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 ****

"Pott's music is further evidence of this composer's vivid and unusual aural imagination, as well as his dramatic sense. This is the first recording of this beautiful work...On a disc where the solo singing is uniformly excellent, it is unfair to cite an individual, but Matthew Wood's singing [in the Jackson] is a marvellous blend of of implacable poise and vocal beauty." International Record Review, October 2012

"While personal loss lies at the heart of this new collection from the ever admirable Vasari Singers, it is predominantly a superb celebration of life and love...Always ready to commission and perform new work, this choir grows in stature with each new recording." The Observer, 7th October 2012

While the unifying thread which links these works is that of loss, the underlying focus is an uplifting celebration of life and love. Gabriel Jackson's Requiem combines traditional solemnity with poems which embrace wide-ranging spirituality, resulting in images of light and radiant optimism. Contrasting poignancy of expression is heard in personal tributes from John Tavener and Francis Pott, while Bob Chilcott uses Pachelbel's famous Canon to set Oscar Wilde's Requiescat. Vasari Singers' Great British Anthems (8572504) was described as 'essential listening' by Gramophone. With superbly moving performances of works by four of the foremost names in choral music, this disc cannot fail to thrill choral and British music aficionados everywhere.