“The program opens with a beautifully refined rendition of a Monteverdi madrigal, Si dolce è’l tormento (So sweet is the torment), in which a man expatiates on the joy and pain with which burning love inflames him, and the hard-heartedness of his beloved. The singing and playing of the four musicians are wonderfully delicate here. Next follows an exhilarating rendition of the famous virtuoso soprano aria from Handel’s Messiah, through which Tannehill Anderson sails with facile agility in the outer portions and reflective repose in the middle. After a stylish rendition by Tannehill Anderson of the opening movement of Mendelssohn’s op. 65/4 Organ Sonata that fully brings out its Bachian character… Bach’s G-Major Violin Sonata receives a lovely rendition from Suh Lane and Williams Bickers, employing modern instruments but informed by HIP scholarship in the execution.… The Four Shakespeare Songs of Cecilia McDowall…is overall conservatively tonal by the standards of the last century, but has its spikier moments and borrows liberally from jazz and blues idioms for harmonic color. The soprano part is quite challenging, with an occasionally stratospheric tessitura; Tannehill Anderson meets every challenge with pinpoint accuracy and is ably supported by her three colleagues. The disc closes with an improvisation by the three instrumentalists on the famous medieval tune La Folia… ending on a vigorous upbeat note. As usual, Reference Recordings provides crystal-clear recorded sound and a natural aural perspective. Steven Ledbetter’s booklet notes are informative; texts and translations are provided. The booklet is attractively designed and laid out with striking colors (including several shades of pink), well-chosen color photos, and an artistic drawing of the four musicians on the booklet cover. This disc is a welcome day brightener; cheerily recommended.”
—James A. Altena, Fanfare
Subscribers can find the full review online or in the May/June 2023 issue of Fanfare Magazine