Magnificat Recording – AllMusic
AllMusic
the end result is a Bach performance that is original in concept and satisfying in details.
AllMusic
the end result is a Bach performance that is original in concept and satisfying in details.
Early Music Today – Editor’s Choice *****
Rarely, very rarely, a recording comes along that because of its content and level of performance seems to be hors concours. This is just such a recording
BBC Music Magazine *****
Choral & Song Choice:
‘What follows is a holistically conceived, beautifully paced, exhilarating executed performance.’
BBC Music Magazine (Christmas 2015)
Gramophone Magazine – Editor’s Choice (December 2015)
‘Another intriguing and excellently performed project from Butt and his Dunedin Consort: a delightful recreation of what Bach’s first Christmas in Leipzig might well have sounded like.’
The Sunday Times
His quintet of soloists are brilliant illusionists, sounding like a crowd in Omnes Generationes
The Arts Desk
This disc’s academic credentials are impeccable, but my reasons for loving it are purely musical; John Butt’s Bach programme allows us to party as if it was, er, 1723… Essential listening.’
Classical MPR
The effect is reverent and seamless. The musicianship of the singers and the players is flawless, and it’s interesting to hear the works in their historical context.’
Supersonic Award:
Den Aufnahmetechnikern ist ein Meisterstück gelungen…Unser Tipp für die Feiertage!”
Herald Scotland Top 20 Classical Recordings for 2015: *****
‘Hard to imagine a classier Christmas album.’
‘Sekä Magnificat että joulukantaatti ovat säihkyvän jouluisia teoksia, joissa trumpetit raikaavat ja patarummut jylisevät. Toki sijansa saa myös hempeä joulutunteilu
Financial Times *****
It is a brilliant deal: 21st-century listeners get all of Bach’s glorious music associated with December 25 1723, performed with zest and imagination, without having to sit through the sermon.
Financial Times (Christmas 2015)
Unter diesen Bedingungen kann auch das bekannte Magnificat in seiner gleißend hellen Es-Dur-Fassung nur eine Freude sein – diese Erwartung bestätigt sich beim Hören: Das ist sehr, sehr wohltuend.”
Rondo Magazine 28 Nov 2015
artistxite.de
,Die Illusion funktioniert: Man fühlt sich unmittelbar in die besondere Stimmung einer festlichen Vesper hineinversetzt. Butt und sein Ensemble erweisen sich (zum wiederholten Male) als akkurate Spurensucher, die die Unmittelbarkeit des historischen Kontexts für den heutigen Hörer wieder erfahrbar machen.’
Classical CD Choice
‘Quite possibly the most persuasive version of Bach’s Magnificat you are likely to hear in modern times.
Sinfini Music – Reviews
Andrew Stewart
There are so many good things about this recording that it’s hard to know where to start. I could listen to Clare Wilkinson sing the first recitative from Bach’s Christmas Cantata BWV 63 all day and still be held by her individuality and insight. Everyone involved – from the compact vocal consort and ace period-instrument players to the cohort of congregational singers – pour heart and soul into their work.
[…] I’ve heard nothing finer all year.