“Probing the line between very old and very new music, the Orlando Consort’s latest CD sometimes makes it difficult to tell which is which. The O’Regan piece – in which the fourmember Consort sings the Petrarch and the Estonian Chamber Choir, the English poems – sounds exquisite and delicate. The result is a kaleidoscope of color for the ear that shows the variety and modernity of so-called early music.”
– Anne Midgette, THE WASHINGTON POST (June 29, 2008)
“The rippling vocal invention and vibrant rhythmic pulses of Guillaume de Machaut’s thrilling 14th century Notre Dame Mass radiate across the centuries to Tarik O’Regan’s ‘Scattered Rhymes’ (2006) in this appealing disc devoted to musical and poetic affinities.”
– Steve Winn, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“The medieval modernism of Machaut intermingles with the commanding new voice of Tarik O’Regan in ‘Scattered Rhymes’, The ‘Messe’, with its flowing, decorated contrapuntal lines, creates a rich tapestry of sound, which is given a riveting performance by the Orlando Consort. The CD ends with O’Regan’s take on Machaut’s ‘Douce Dame Jolie’. Stunning, perceptive singing makes this a ‘must have’ disc.” / CHORAL CHOICE
– CHOIR AND ORGAN (July/August 2008)
“Typically unfaultable [and] programmed with considerable care… the results are sprightly and arresting.” Performance: / Sound: / MUSIC CHOICE
– Roger Thomas, BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE (June 2008)
“Stunning! (…) glorious voices, tunneling through medieval polyphony’s horizontal maze with forthright skill and beauty. O’Regan’s gift for lyric flight seems boundless.”
– THE TIMES, London
“A consistently engaging, musically challenging, and aesthetically rewarding experience to delay no longer: get this disc!”
– David Vernier, CLASSICSTODAY.COM
“Truly virtuosic.”
– Brewer, AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE (July/August 2008)
“The complexity of these pieces is definitely daunting, but a measure patience will reward the listener willing to experience these masterworks of choral music, whose closeness in spirit belies the 650 years that separate them. The surround sound recording from harmonia mundi is nothing short of spectacular… highly recommended!”
– Tom Gibbs, AUDIOPHILE AUDITION (June 5, 2008)
“These well-recorded performances are excellent throughout. The ‘Messe’ is dark, rich and powerful; the famous highly embellished ‘Amens’ at the end of the ‘Gloria’ and ‘Credo’, as well as the ornate ‘Deo gracias’ of the ‘Ite missa est’, are especially stunning.”
– Robert Levett, INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW (June 2008)
“This fascinating disc spans the centuries…the Orlando Consort bring vigour and tonal variety to Machaut’s Messe de Notre Dame, and tenor Mark Dobell gives a lilting account of the composer’s song ‘Douce dame jolie.’ [Tarik O’Regan’s] ‘Scattered Rhymes’…pairs the Consort in medieval English poetry with Paul Hillier’s choir in texts by Petrarch: a vivid meditation on earthly and divine love.”
– Matthew Rye, DAILY TELEGRAPH (May 10, 2008)