Samson – Los Excepcionales – Scherzo
We are delighted that our latest release, Handel’s Samson, has been listed as a highly recommended recording in Scherzo magazine for March 2020.
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Samson – Scherzo Review
Eduardo Torrico, Scherzo
John Butt gathers a glittering vocal cast … the orchestra is dazzling, as usual in the case of the Dunedin Consort.
Read the full review in the March issue of Scherzo.
Samson – Choir & Organ Review
Philip Reed, Choir & Organ
★★★★★
Together with outstanding orchestral playing…, this complete recording of Handel’s first version of Samson is highly recommended.
Read the full review in the February edition of Choir & Organ magazine.
Samson – All Music Review
James Manheim, All Music
The momentum holds up over the entire long version: the album is well recorded by Linn… this is both an important and an enjoyable Handel recording.
Read the full review here.
Samson – Early Music Review
David Hansell, Early Music Review
This release is unlikely to be surpassed – or even competed with – for some time.
Read the full review here.
Samson – ConcertoNet Review
Sébastien Gauthier, ConcertoNet
A version that nevertheless appeals to the listener in many ways… Joshua Ellicot is excellent!
Read the full review here.
Samson – The Daily Mail Review
Brian Viner, The Daily Mail
This is the best we have yet had from John Butt and his Dunedin Consort of Edinburgh… both singing and playing are first-rate.
Read the full review here.
Samson – ResMusica Review
Pierre Degott, ResMusica
This new version could well be placed at the top of the discography… a new milestone in the Handelian discography.
Read the full review here.
Samson – Record of the Month – BBC Music Magazine
Berta Joncus, BBC Music Magazine
Performance ★★★★★
Recording ★★★★★
John Butt has created the best Samson ever.
Read the full review in the December issue of BBC Music Magazine.
Samson – Best of 2019 CD Picks – Planet Hugill
Robert Hugill, Planet Hugill
2019 seemed a year for scholarship and rarity in recordings… John Butt and the Dunedin Consort recorded every note of Handel’s Samson as the composer originally wrote it…
See the full list here.
Samson – The Scotsman Review
Ken Walton, The Scotsman
★★★★★
This is another John Butt spectacular, the ensemble’s effervescent director eliciting a performance that captures the emotion of Handel’s exceptional writing…
Read the full review here.
Samson – Editor’s Choice – Gramophone
Martin Cullingford, Gramophone
John Butt really does excel at these explorations of monumental major works; the performance is wonderful, while the level of historical and musical enquiry further enriches our appreciation.
Samson – Critics’ Choice – Gramophone
Richard Wigmore, Gramophone
Today… I’m plumping for Samson: for its superb solo team… its thrillingly immediate choral singing, and the mingled gravitas and theatrical urgency of John Butt’s direction.
Read the full review in the December issue of Gramophone.
Samson – Gramophone Review
Richard Wigmore, Gramophone
This new Samson now becomes the top recommendation: for its uniformly excellent soloists, its excitingly ‘present’ choral singing, and above all, its urgent sense of theatre.
Read the full review in the December issue of Gramophone.
Samson – Critics’ Choice – Gramophone
David Vickers, Gramophone
It is unprecedented for an unabridged Samson to nail its enigmatic challenges… [its] manifold musical details, incremental theatrical tensions, literary subtleties and emotional trajectory…
Read the full review in the December issue of Gramophone.