RECORDINGS - CD & DVD

'An excellent record, which I enjoyed very much, [...] Indeed, so impressed have I been by this disc that although these concertos have been recorded many times, I cannot recall a set of performances which has satisfied me so much. [...] The recording balance is equally first-rate'
 ★★★★★ Musical Opinion Quarterly, October-December, 2022 (Robert Matthew-Walker)

'[…] Bach used only single stringed instruments for each orchestral part, a limitation respected on these recordings. It turns out to be no limitation at all, in fact the intimate and finely-detailed weave of the five string players of the Hanover Band is one of the recording's chief pleasures […] Another is the playing of harpsichordist Andrew Arthur, which always feels alert and responsive to the orchestral parts, and has just enough tempo flexibility and ornamentation to bring Bach’s aural designs to life. The sheer sensuousness of the slow movements, which are taken at a luxuriously slow pace, should win over even hardened harpsichord sceptics.
★★★★ The Telegraph, July 28, 2022 (Ivan Hewett)
Critic's recommendation: Best Classical CD releases of July 2022

This is a fine new recording of the Bach harpsichord concertos with the Hanover Band in good form. [...] Andrew Arthur is a fine player, and the Garlick harpsichord sounds very well. [...] if wanting stylistic performances of these four concertos, this is well worth considering.'
 ★★★★ Choir & Organ, November/December, 2022 (Douglas Hollick)
 
'This fine first CD – the second will include the other three harpsichord concertos and Brandenburg V – was recorded in the admirable acoustic of St Nicholas, Arundel and uses a harpsichord by Andrew Garlick, built in 2009 and after Jean-Claude Goujon, 1748. What is particularly good is the splendid balance between the single strings of the Hanover Band’s A team and the harpsichord – a resonant and singing instrument, well able to hold its own.[...] It is now largely accepted that using single strings is the best way to balance these exquisite concerti, the majority of which had earlier lives as concerti for violin before being re-scored for a six-instrument ensemble for Bach’s concerts in Zimmermann’s coffee-house. [...] what is so beguiling about these performances is the absolute integration of the players with one another. Not one player fails to contribute and the way the first violin and the right hand of the harpsichord play in complete sync – even when negotiating slight inégales in the rhythms – is so elegant and makes for that fluidity which only one-to-a-part can give. Although the excellent performance by Francesco Corti and Shunsuke Sato uses a second harpsichord to play the continuo of BWV 1055 for All-of-Bach, this marvellous performance beats it for natural clarity and for the way all the players – even when they appear to be just filling in the realisation of the continuo – shape their lines to make them sing in response to one other and to the free but perfectly rhythmic playing of Andrew Arthur. This is not only a very ‘correct’ textbook version that I shall enjoy returning to for a long time, but it is fluid, inventive and utterly musical.[...] Andrew Arthur is not a soloist in the modern sense of the word – out to stamp his personality on this music: he is content to help the ensemble to listen to each other and above all, to listen to Bach. There are no grand gestures or extremes of tempi. 
This is the best we are likely to get and I look forward to the second CD immensely.'
Early Music Review (David Stancliffe)

'An enjoyably no-nonsense kind of playing makes the opening movement of Bach's Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, extremely striking.
Soloist Andrew Arthur and the one-to-a-part strings of the Hanover Band play with a feisty swing. Like windows flung open after the rain, there's a matter-of-fact muscularity to the performance, and continuo team Henrik Persson and Kate Brooke provide copious flexing. It's fun.
Incredibly funky playing from Arthur, too, makes this movement - particularly the cadenza-like peroration that drives into the final recapitulation of the main - perhaps the album's highlight. [...] Arthur's ornamentation is interesting yet delicately scented,
and his trills keep the harpsichord's line singing in the most spectacular fashion.'
Gramophone, September 2022 (Mark Seow)

 ‘It has a real freshness and excitement to it’
BBC Radio 3, In Tune, 15 July, 2022 (Sean Rafferty)

‘[…] a really rich sound, with enjoyable ornamentation - I like the balance as well’
BBC Radio 3, Record Review, 30 July 2022 (Andrew McGregor) 

'The sound of this recording just glows! The pieces have such rhythmic drive - you can hear every detail'
BBC Radio 3, Sunday Morning, 2 October 2022 (Sarah Walker)

 

‘The musicanship is exemplary, the sense of style from Hanson and Arthur perfect. Hesitate not!'  The Classical Explorer (Colin Clarke)

‘[The] rapport between the two players shows through in a beautifully balanced sequence of Mozart sonatas. The recording venue is the Chapel of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, its wood-lined walls giving the sound a realistic resonance without favouring either instrument unduly. Hanson plays a gut-strung Guadagnini with a 1780s bow, whilst Arthur's keyboard is yet another beautifully voiced fortepiano from the studio of Paul McNulty - a copy of a Walter from around 1805. [...] in music that offers such rewards as Mozart's violin sonatas, the appetite is whetted for further instalments from these players.' Gramophone (David Threasher)

'The renowned period violinist Peter Hanson teams up here with the equally celebrated fortepianist Andrew Arthur in effervescent performances [...] impeccably musical and charmingly involving' Early Music Review (29 Nov 2021)

'I'm a period-instrument fan generally. However, when it comes to Classical-era music I don't always find period renditions terribly convincing, and therefore I tend to prefer stylistically knowledgable performances on modern instruments. Here's a definite exception, however, from two excellent British specialists. [...] Together Hanson and Arthur give you the feeling of being in an 18th-century parlor with performances of intimacy and verve. [...] this is an ideal sampler of Mozart's violin-and-keyboard music on period instruements and will surely make it to my Want List.' Fanfare Magazine, USA (Michael De Sapio)

‘A fine period-instrument recording of these sonatas which are each dedicated to women who supported Mozart in his musical endeavours. The duo of Peter Hanson and Andrew Arthur work well together in the performances here.'  Lark Reviews (June 2021)

'Couldn't be better! Sensitive, lovingly shared. They make Mozart sound simple. What a deception. Not everyone can play Mozart this way.'  
Customer review, Amazon.com

‘…a fresh and touching new reading from Andrew Arthur’s Orpheus Britannicus and Trinity Hall Chapel Choir, and the viol consort Newe Vialles. Prepare to enjoy beautiful singing and haunting music in a chapel acoustic as comforting as a blazing log fire.’ 
★★★★  The Times (Geoff Brown)

‘Immediately striking here in Buxtehude’s slow-moving Passion meditation is the quiet, articulate intensity and aching sense of intimacy on display…performances characterised by clarity, precision, nuanced responses to changes of expressive tone and emotional temperature, and an admirably flexible reciprocity between all concerned. The abiding, altogether involving impression is one of utter sincerity and refined, fluid finesse. Excellent booklet notes by [Andrew] Arthur and Franco Basso perfectly complement these fine and valuable performances.’ ★★★★★  Classical Ear (Michael Quinn)

‘a fine performance…emotional and moving…’  BBC Record Review (Andrew McGregor)

'Buxtehude’s cycle of seven cantatas, Membra Jesu nostri, BuxWV 75 is given an intensely intimate performance by the period ensemble Orpheus Britannicus, the Chapel Choir of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and the viol consort Newe Vialles. I found listening to this to be a most moving experience – one that was enhanced by the way in which the Resonus engineers had captured the sound within the accommodating chapel acoustic. The director Andrew Arthur also contributes to the excellent booklet notes that complete a most recommendable package.’ ★★★★1/2  iClassical 

'It is often the context of the music-making that distinguishes its character, and the near ideal conditions of a choir of young singers together with a quintet of singers who share that background and the strings, lute and keyboard of Orpheus Britannicus, joined by the Newe Vialles viol consort in the subdued Part 6 (Ad Cor) provide a very coherent group of musicians for this tense, yet restrained masterpiece of early German Baroque oratorio. I admire the overall sound – there are no prima donnas here, nor the sense that this is just another routine performance. The intensity of it all is maintained by the experienced and capable direction of Andrew Arthur, as is the sense of the different chori – well laid out in the structure of the work as it is in the performance. His scholarly and helpful essay is a key element in the liner notes, revealing where and how Anders von Düben transcribed this work from its tablature original of 1680 into staff notation. This is complemented by a revealing note on the Latin text by Franco Basso, which is then given with an English translation. Details of pitch, instruments and tuning complete a model booklet…The choir sings with conviction and clarity  and they reflect their director’s precision and their regular experience of singing in the small Chapel at Trinity Hall...There is such wonderful variety of mood and expression in this pioneering work, and we should be glad that it has received such skilled and musical a treatment. If you want a recording to complement a [one-to-a-part] performance, I recommend this CD wholeheartedly; and in its own right it is a fine advertisement for this director and his college choir.  
Early Music Review (David Stancliffe)

'..seductive and ravishing…' ★★★★  BBC Music Magazine (Paul Riley)

'This is an outstanding work that is given an excellent performance here’  MusicWeb-Internation (Stuart Sillitoe)

’This substantial composition gets a stunning new presentation in this release combining period instrument with the well disciplined voices of Trinity Hall’  Lark Reviews

’Supplementing the same vocal and instrumental forces he used on his 2017 Priory disc devoted to the sacred music of Purcell with the newly formed period-instrument ensemble Newe Vialles, Andrew Arthur has assembled a substantial body of performers. Yet he uses them most effectively, drawing from them an intimacy and directness of expression which gets right to the core of the work. Interpretatively, the most impressive thing is Arthur’s pacing and sense of deep repose. Time seems to stand still with the orchestral Sonata which opens the fourth cantata (‘To the Side’) before gently moving on into a decidedly Monteverdian setting of a text derived from the Song of Solomon. At no time do you feel that Andrew Arthur is in any sort of hurry to get through the work, and a sense that at every corner and turn he is content to linger contemplatively imbues this performance with a rare sense of ease.’  Gramophone (Marc Rochester)

'..it’s hard to imagine these pieces being played better.' Gramophone

'As Gottfied Reiche's solo Abblasen sounds the opening fanfare on a disc that explores the trumpet's assimilation into the 17th century Baroque, Robert Farley's laser precision and unflappable ebullience take the phrase 'clarion call' to the next level. And although, during his first decade in Leipzig, J.S. Bach was a conspicuous beneficiary of Reiche's celebrated dexterity, Farley is on a mission to show the trumpet's earlier evolution from something of emblemtaic of parade ground and battlefield to an instrument capable of chamber music subtlelty - Italy at the heart of a seismic shift...But Italy doesn't have the field to itself. Biber, Schmelzer and Gottfried Finger supply welcome contrast, especially when a dash of stylus phantasticus lessens the danger of so many short movements blurring one into another. It's a danger evidently recognised in the careful programming which rings the textural changes from trumpet plus solo accompaniment to richly layered five-part sonatas including the ear-grabbing interpolation of bassoon in Schmelzer's Sonata in C. Incisive, rhythmically taut in fast movements, eloquently expressive in slow ones, Farley's artistry is perfectly complimented by the suave sophisication of Orpheus Britannicus. And buttressed by vivid recorded sound, there's an alchemy at work that turns not-so-base metal into trumpet gold!'
BBC Music Magazine (Paul Riley) ★★★★

‘Robert Farley’s trumpet playing is most impressive...the sound of the trumpet is balanced by the occasional organ solo, including a Toccata by Pasquini and two Canzonas by Frescobaldi, attractively played by Andrew Arthur [and] there are some excellent contributions from the period instrumentalists of Orpheus Britannicus, notably Theresa Caudle, violin….’ Andrew Benson-Wilson, Early Music Reviews +

'...Farley and the ensemble Orpheus Britannicus are impressive.' MusicWeb International

‘While trumpeter Robert Farley assumes a starring role, this is a collegial effort in which the Orpheus Britannicus (playing period instruments) and its director, organist Andrew Arthur, are also both afforded chances to shine on their own. The playing is spirited and stylish…Farley is an exquisite trumpeter with impeccable technique and finely varied tonal timbre. The performers are well recorded in a rich ambience; detailed booklet notes are provided…and, as the timing indicates, the disc is generously filled to the brim. Definitely recommended’
Fanfare Magazine USA (James A. Altena)

‘What a glorious CD. I was riveted from the first bar. There is no attempt to gild the lily. Andrew Arthur allows the music to speak for itself, which it does most eloquently. Ensemble is paramount. Solos are provided ‘in choir’ with no ego. Do buy this wonderful disc, and enjoy the relaxed freshness from these consummate musicians. Andrew Fletcher, Organists' Review ★★★★★

'A considered exposé of Purcell’s still woefully under-exposed genius is always welcome, especially one as varied and intelligent as
Andrew Arthur’s, with his aptly named ensemble, Orpheus Britannicus, supporting his young mixed Choir of Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
The lingua franca here for Arthur is the composer’s church music with a representative selection of anthems and canticles neatly offset
against stylishly delivered instrumental contributions.

Making the most of Purcell’s deeply elegant music requires a particular sensitivity to linear shape, lyrical articulation and clarity of texture, not least in order to draw upon the pungency of the harmonic language. Arthur finds a remarkably atmospheric palette throughout, evident from the sprightly opening strains of O sing unto the Lord to the colourful and noble projections of the Te Deum, a grandiloquent conceit which translated
easily from the panegyrics of William and Mary to influence Handel’s Georgian fare.

Alongside these pleasingly idiomatic features, the correlation between solo verses, string interludes and the full group in these pieces
makes for a profoundly consequential experience, each section organically emerging from the last. Arthur never forces the pace or engages in
quick-win mannerisms. The Bell Anthem is a case in point, where its lightly cascading opening sets the scene with an easy nonchalance,
gradually injected with its delicious blend of inward reflection and balletic fervour....

...Of the other pieces, relish Arthur’s own playing of the mesmerising Voluntary and the bittersweet pearls of the great G minor Chacony.
Jehova, quam multi sunt, that most exquisite creation by a teenager, is afforded just the right balance between abstract wonder and rhetorical purpose. With this kind of expert control and youthful responsiveness, the poignancy of the music should penetrate the hardest of hearts.
The recorded sound is outstanding.' Jonathan Freeman-Attwood - Gramophone ®️

'[...] music-making of the highest professional standard [...] I have no hessitation in giving it my warmest recommendation.'  Cathedral Music

'Delightful'  Lark Reviews 

CD 1      

CD 2

1. Lumen ad revelationem gentium - Plainsong antiphon

2. Contrapunctus I: Mit Fried und Freud, ich fahr dahin - Buxtehude

3. O nata lux - Tallis

4. Magnificat quarti toni - Cavazzoni

5. Evolutio I: Mit Fried und Freud, ich fahr dahin - Buxtehude

6. Chorale: Mit Fried und Freud, ich fahr dahin - J.S. Bach

7. Te lucis ante terminum - Tallis

8. Carillon de Ste-Anne, d'Auray

9. Unis dans la prière - Quesnel (U.K. première recording)

10. Cantique de Jean Racine - Fauré

11. Notre père - Duruflé

12. Improviastion on the Te Deum - Tournemire (transcribed by Duruflé)

13. Locus iste - Bruckner

14. Choral Prelude: Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele - Brahms

15. Tantum ergo - Brough (World première recording)

16. Listen sweet dove - Ives

17. Come down, O love divine - Vaughan Williams / Arthur

1. Toccata in D minor, BWV 913 – J.S. Bach

2. Chorale Partita: ‘Wer nur den lieben Gott läβt walten’ – G. Böhm

3-4. Prelude & Fugue No. 4 in C-sharp minor, BWV 849 – J.S. Bach

5. Aria con variationi in A – M. Greene

6-8. Three Grounds – H. Purcell

9-11. Italian Concerto in F, BWV 971 – J.S. Bach

12. Les Barricades Mistérieuses – F. Couperin

13-18. Suite No. 7 in G minor, HWV 432 – G.F. Handel

'...enormous admiration for the beauties of this handsome 2006 instrument by the Danish firm of Carsten Lund...Andrew Arthur, Director of Music at Trinity Hall, brings expertise and scholarship to this repertoire. Well-selected pieces and colourful registration present the Dane in most sympathetic light - a comprehensive tour of the organ's resources into the bargain...Ever thought-provoking. Bravo!'  Organists' Review

'This new, beautifully crafted small organ provides some lovely sounds, particularly the flutes, and Andrew Arthur exploits every available combination from the 20 stops...He plays this cleverly devised programme with musicality and an excellent understanding of the music...this recording should be of interest to many...'  Choir & Organ

'...a good understanding of period performance style and technique. Bach's Fantasia in G minor and the Bach Passacaglia are given particularly fine performances, showing just what a smallish organ is capable of when played well.'  Early Music Review

played on the Austrian organ by Rieger, Church of St Marylebone, London 

Priory Label: PRCD 820

'impressive...a musical rhetorical style of playing that avoids all excesses…clear articulation and a good sense of phrasing'  Early Music Review

'a musically gratifying presentation of these familiar masterworks…[Andrew Arthur's] solidly controlled tempos allow the music to breathe, and encourage polyphonic clarity. His precise rhythms and clear articulations are enhanced by effective agogic accents… The plenum works are imbued with vigor, while the quiet ones are expressive without being sentimental.' The American Organist

'This CD is from a performer who has certainly thought about the music at an intellectual level...Andrew Arthur's attention to detail and particularly his harmonic awareness are impressive. Tempos are carefully chosen, eschewing the temptation to race - a tendency in the performance of Baroque music that has continued far too long. [He] allows pieces such as the second setting of 'Komm Heiliger Geist' to flow naturally and spontaneously; the articulation does not advertise itself, though if you attend to that aspect, it is extremely skilled. The interspersed free organ works receive fine performances...'  Organists' Review

'...clean and precise playing which follows the letter of the score with scholarly precision and does so with well judged and highly sensible tempi. Students of Bach's organ music may find a valuable source of reference here.'  The Gramophone

1. Fantasia super ‘Komm, Heiliger Geist’, BWV 651

2. Komm, Heiliger Geist, BWV 652

3. Komm, Gott, Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist, BWV 667

4-5. Fantasia & Fugue in C minor, BWV 537

6. Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 653

To listen to samples from this recording, please click on the links below

ORGAN MUSIC FOR PASSIONTIDE

"a performance of incandescent sensitivity"  The Gramophone

To purchase a copy of this CD please click here

1. 'Valet will ich dir geben' BWV 736 - J.S. Bach

2-4. Sonata No. 6 in D minor, Op.65 - F. Mendelssohn

5. 'Herzlich tut mich verlangen' - J. Brahms

6. Psalm-Prelude No. 1, Set 2 'De Profundis' - H. Howells

7-18. Partite diverse sopra: 'Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig', BWV 768 - J.S. Bach

19. Jésus console les filles d'Israël qui le suivent' - M. Dupré

20. 'O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß', BWV 622 - J.S. Bach

21. Choral-Improvisation on 'Victimae Pachali' - C. Tournemire (transcribed: M Duruflé)

To listen to samples from this recording, please click on the links below

'Mozart - The Supreme Decorator'

Soloists: Diana Montague, Elizabeth Futral and Majella Cullagh

The Hanover Band (Harpsichord Continuo)

Conductor: Sir Charles Mackerras

OPERA RARA: ORR232 CD

‘William Child - Sacred Choral Music ’

The Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge

Conductor: Geoffrey Webber

Organist & Musical Editor: Andrew Arthur

ASV - Gaudeamus Label: CD GAU 182

CRITICS' CHOICE, THE GRAMOPHONE, December 1998

'World première recordings and highly welcome too'  Gramophone

'First-rate'  Fanfare Magazine, USA

'Remarkable'  BBC Music Magazine

‘Samuel Wesley: Sacred Choral Music'

The Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge

Conductor: Geoffrey Webber

Organist: Andrew Arthur

ASV - Gaudeamus Label: CD GAU 157

"Delightful"  BBC Music Magazine

"Excellent recital"  The Gramophone

Gramophone Good CD Guide Recommendation

‘Regal Fanfares’: Baroque Music for Trumpet and Organ

Trumpet: Anthony Aarons

Organ: Andrew Arthur

Griffin Label: GCCD4012

‘The English Rachmaninov’

The Choir of All Saints, Margaret Street, London

Conductor: Paul Brough

Producer: Andrew Arthur

Priory Label: PRCD 860

'polished professionalism and obvious musical sensitivity...'  International Record Review

'most impressive...fine, incisive choral singing'  The Gramophone

‘The New English Hymnal - Vol 7’

The Choir of All Saints, Margaret Street, London

Conductor: Harry Bramma

Organist: Andrew Arthur

Priory Label: PRCD 707

'...I love this recording and congratulate Harry Bramma and his perfect and sympathetic organist Andrew Arthur....Memorable and treasurable' (Sound & Vision)

'...the organ playing on this recording is excellent throughout...This disc has atmosphere and professional accomplishment on a high level...' (Organist's Review)

'Bach Cantatas' - DVD

Bach Cantata Pilgrimage 2000

The Monteverdi Choir

The English Baroque Soloists (Organ Continuo)

Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner

BBC - Opus Arte Label: OA 0816 D

'...filmed by BBC Wales, the concerts create a moving spiritual journey in which the music itself is allowed to take centre stage thanks to the passion of the performances...' (Amazon.co.uk)

Poulenc: Stabat Mater - DVD

The Choirs of Gonville & Caius, Clare & St John’s Colleges, Cambridge

Chorus Master (Gonville & Caius): Andrew Arthur

Soprano: Judith Howarth

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Christopher Robinson

BBC – Opus Arte Label: OA 0817 D

"This is an excellent example of what DVD can do. The performances are very fine; the combined choirs are disciplined and musical, and produce wonderful clear, precise tone." (Music Web, June 2002)