‘It is a long while since I heard a performance of the Requiem brought off with such cool, penetrating loyalty. Praise to all concerned’

‘Berlioz's Grande Messe des Morts at the Royal Albert Hall was magnificent and memorable. The choirs of Goldsmiths Choral Union and the London Philharmonic, 10 sets of timpani, four brass bands, high in the gods, and an enlarged Royal Philharmonic Orchestra prepared the eye for a musical spectacular. The glorious interweaving of musical textures - soft and calm, terrible and majestic - brought this little performed masterpiece to glorious life. Conductor Brian Wright, soloist Andrew Kennedy, choirs and players created an uplifting and cathartic experience’

‘This of all Beethoven’s works cost more to the composer than any other, and this unmistakably was a performance which in its brightness and freshness revealed the triumph of the achievement. In the first three sections of the Mass the clean-cut fortissimos of the chorus were consistently thrilling, with Wright often choosing challengingly fast tempi, but even there the extremes of contrast were what even more made the performance remarkable and gave it spiritual meaning’

‘The performance under Brian Wright was a worthy one, gathering weight and intensity as it unfolded. The mighty opening chorus, with its suggestion of vast crowds calling to each other, provided a fittingly monumental architecture. Later, the chorus focused their music with even greater point, dramatising the different groups of people energetically and drawing us to the heart of Bach’s vision with their sturdy treatment of the chorale settings’