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.
Samson – A Recording of the Year – Musicweb International
Simon Thompson, Musicweb International
A taught, exciting reading with the very finest performances and top notch sound…
Read the full review here.
Samson – AUDIO Magazine Review
Miquel Cabruja, AUDIO
★★★★★
The expressive and eloquently performed oratorio sounds as dramatic as a veritable opera.
Read the full review in the December edition of AUDIO magazine.
Samson – Musicweb International Review
Simon Thompson, Musicweb
In short, this is superb, the best Handel oratorio I’ve heard in years.
Read the full review here.
Samson – Shortlisted Recording of 2019 – Presto Classical
We were delighted to be included on Presto Classical’s shortlist of top recordings for 2019. Samson now joins earlier Dunedin projects like Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Monteverdi’s Vespers and Handel’s Esther as a Presto Classical recommended recording.
See the full shortlist here.
Samson – Baroque Vocal Nominee – ICMA 2020
We are delighted to announce that our latest recording, Handel’s Samson, has been nominated in the ‘Best Baroque Vocal’ category at the 2020 International Classical Music Awards.
Samson – The Observer Review
Nicholas Kenyon, The Observer
No one can accuse the Dunedin Consort of doing things by halves. John Butt directs with vigour… while Dunedin regulars excel.
Read the full review here.
