this album… welcomes those who are new to the Eastern tradition. The blend of well‑performed music from strikingly different cultures teaches us that we, too, may hold hands, look deeply into each others’ eyes and become open to tolerance and understanding.

a cross-cultural event of a sort rare in medieval times, and Cappella Romana brings it to life… this is a unique and fascinating medieval release.

the singers are clearly steeped in the stylistic world of this music and it shows in their freedom, flexibility and that sense of an ensemble performing this regularly.…

“This combination of repertory is practically unique among choral groups… a unique moment not only in musical history but history in general… immersion in history and scholarship sets the group apart. … ecstatic moments where you feel outside yourself is…what they do”

deeply researched… performed and recorded in Cappella Romana's usual superb quality.

this album provides a balanced program of music that is totally modern but bearing an indisputable imprint of Eastern Christian traditions. This balance and revelation is Cappella Romana’s unique gift to world music, a door opening to greater understanding and the expansion of our appreciation of beauty.

This [album] works well, its atmospheric component pieces both varied and unified, not least by the composers' contrasting treatments of the doxologies and Alleluias.

Its beauty is impressively powerful… Frank La Rocca’s Mass of the Americas is as timeless as it is timely - thus succeeding with flying colours in the commission - and Richard Sparks and Company are its truly authentic interpreters.

the smooth and assured delivery of Cappella Romana keeps the work meaningful and communicative throughout… Ikon of Light is majestic, generally slow-paced, pervaded by a contagious sense of calm that creates an experience of time expansion…

the warmth, depth and sincerity of the singing in Kyr’s All-Night Vigil transcend the unfamiliarity of the material. The vocal sound here is simply beautiful: there is a full hour of elegantly phrased, emotionally penetrating, deeply sincere delivery both of choral material and of individual lines against a choral background.

There is such sonic beauty and musical complexity in every track that layers and layers of harmony just keep pouring out into the listening space… one listen to this disc and you will realize the spirituality in all of humanity.

innovatively programmed… Cappella Romana is an exceptional choir, and here, the group has been ideally recorded in Portland, Oregon's St. Stephen Catholic Church. Strongly recommended. (Named an All Music Favorite Classical Vocal Release of 2022)

sonorous drones, extended sustains, deeply full choral outlays and deeply meditative sobriety and jubilation… Bravo for the vocal excellence, the great audio and the finely crafted honing of the Modern in the Archaic.

“In these testing times, music from heaven is more than welcome… what counts for us is the result as presented here: A brilliant statement of the ancient Eastern Orthodox Gospel in a modern setting.… once again the female and male voices of Cappella Romana are beyond reproach, taking the listener for just over an hour into another, mystic world.”

“La Rocca has forged an individual and powerful style: emotionally compressed yet often quiet, restrained and then powerfully moving…look for it to become one of La Rocca’s most performed works…”

“The music, in which the organ plays an important role, is quiet and contemplative throughout, and is atmospherically and reverently performed by the Ensemble Benedict XVI.”

There seems to be no limit to his melodic and harmonic inventiveness and his ability to use music as a medium for expressing spirituality or, if you prefer, strong emotional feelings grounded in intelligence and tradition.

this is a marvelous, gorgeously rendered and profoundly personal expression of deep faith… I find this music glowing, inspiring and capable of great emotion and exultation, and one listens with rapt attention to its many marvels.

this is choral singing at its most exquisite. The bottom line is that Benedict Sheehan has in all evidence succeeded in creating once more a fresh and vibrant view to Eastern Orthodox chant in all its glowing colours.

There is a synergy between Sheehan and the singers of the kind that often comes with a sense of shared mission, and best of all is the sound from the Cappella Romana label… rich, clear, and multi-layered.