GRAMOPHONE CHOICE DIAPASON D'OR ' Carwood and his singers highlight the inherent drama of Parsons' style, notably in O bone Jesu, with its changing textures, briliant canons and expressive dissonances … Perhaps the crowning glory of the disc is the final Ave Maria, the slow and poignant unfolding of which echoes long in the memory. Hyperion's detailed recording, swathed in the glowing acoustic of the Fitzalan Chapel, Arundel Castle, enhances these seraphic performances' (BBC Music Magazine) 'The Cardinall's Musick are at their best in this repertoire, and their performances have confidence and authority … Parsons certainly deserves the hearing that Carwood's musicians afford us, so this addition to the catalogue is very valuable' (Gramophone) ''Parsons is not a one-hit-wonder after all … One may expect the incidence of Parsons' music on programmes to increase significantly especially after such a fine sound as Carwood generates' (Classic FM Magazine) ****************************************************** Gramophone award-winning ensemble The Cardinall’s Musick return to another master of the Renaissance, Robert Parsons. Very few records remain of the composer’s short life, and his musical output is often overlooked, perhaps in the shadow of the prolific William Byrd, his successor as a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. However, his vocal writing is some of the most opulent of the period. The Cardinall’s Musick give sublime performances of some of the composer’s most sumptuous choral works, from the remarkably sophisticated Magnificat to the dramatic O bone Jesu. As demonstrated in their previous recordings, their resonant, pure-toned singing is the perfect advocate for such exquisite polyphony. The ensemble’s seemingly effortless and magical performance of the glorious Ave Maria is the perfect conclusion to an enlightening recording.