Reviews

Frank La Rocca: Mass of the Americas

One Peter 5

“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…”
Frank La Rocca: Mass of the Americas

Pizzicato

“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.”
Benedict Sheehan: Vespers

ConcertoNet

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.
Benedict Sheehan: Vespers

Audiophile Audition

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.
Benedict Sheehan: Vespers

HRAudio

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.
Benedict Sheehan: Vespers

AllMusic

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.
Benedict Sheehan: Vespers

Cinemusical

Sheehan’s Vespers is a beautiful work performed here by committed choristers bringing a sense of religious adoration that transports the listener.
Hymns of Kassianí

CD HotList

The performances were recorded in the wonderfully reverberant acoustic of the Madeleine Parish in Portland, Oregon, creating the perfect sonic atmosphere for this powerful and mystical music.
Hymns of Kassianí

HRAudio.net

The full mystic weight invades your spirit like being back in the Eastern Orthodox time. Proof of Cappella Romana’s authenticity? For me, no doubt.
Benedict Sheehan: Vespers

Blog Critics

Benedict Sheehan: Vespers is a rich treat for the ear and for the mind. I can’t recommend it highly enough for anyone with a love of choral music or an interest in liturgical music.
Hymns of Kassianí

Early Music America

melodies ebb and flow over a drone, the lines marked by subtle vocal shakes and scoops that give the music its distinctive sound.
Hymns of Kassianí

American Record Guide

This is one of the most significant recordings of medieval music to appear recently. I hope it will open both ears and minds to Kassia’s richly imaginative musical voice.
Hymns of Kassianí

Choir and Organ

“ celebrated with hugely impressive, authoritative scholarship and performance practice, sonorously glorious vocal colour, and pride by the male and female voices of Cappella Romana”
Benedict Sheehan: Vespers

Gappelegate Classics-Modern Music Review

“If you like Eastern Orthodox liturgical vocals you will find this a nice addition. Or even if you do not! Recommended.” —Grego Applegate Edwards
Hymns of Kassianí

InfoDad

Under the sensitive and knowing direction of Alexander Lingas, the members of Cappella Romana present…this revelatory SACD
Hymns of Kassianí

TheaterByte

Hymns of Kassiani represents another recording triumph for the Cappella Records label. … Highest recommendation.
Hymns of Kassianí

Planet Hugill

“The music moves between the solid chant to more florid, flowing sections, the result is imaginative and I find it immensely appealing. … the performances are seductively intriguing
Hymns of Kassianí

Audiophile Audition

Cappella Romana continues to turn out sensational recordings that are state-of-the-art in sound quality. … This is a landmark recording that will still retain its importance for many years to come.
Hymns of Kassianí

Classical-Modern Music Review

excellent, state-of-the-art performances… It is ravishing, invariably, and quite refreshing if you are not familiar. Either way this one is a milestone.
Hymns of Kassianí

ConcertoNet

this album provides a new tool not only for self-examination but for indulgence in the rich sensual heritage of Byzantine singing. Kassianí’s songs demand to be heard, and we are enriched by listening to them, especially in this authentic and deeply expressive collection.