The Complete Delius Songbook Volume 1

"Mark Stone is full and strong across his range, if lacking in variety. His diction is a model of clarity. Stephen Barlow partners him capably and sympathetically, though some of Delius's more complex pianistic effects would have benefited from a less close-up recording...But lovers of Delius's music should snap up this disc." (BBC Music)

"I've been critical of Mark Stone's use of big primary colours in subtle English songs in the past, but found his approach to Delius far more persuasive, rich in nuance, sensual contrasts of colour and range of textual expression...The partnership between singer and pianist, tested many times in concert and the recording studio, is one of give and take, collectively eloquent and ideally committed to extracting the essence of each song." (ClassicFM)

"The remarkable thing about this first volume of the collected Delius songs, quite apart from the quality of Mark Stone's singing, is that so few of them are identifiable as the work of Delius...Stone has a remarkable voice, firm and finely focused, which he uses seductively over the widest dynamic and expressive range. His singing is ideally matched by the piano-playing of Stephen Barlow, the whole cleanly and clearly recorded, a credit to Stone Records." (Gramophone)