‘Jeffrey Skidmore immediately established unrest and expressiveness, a wholly natural flexibility of pace and phrasing that informed the whole of this wonderful performance, one well-researched into what instruments to use (including Elgar’s own trombone) and in terms of ‘performance style’, the OAE sounding marvellous in its distinctive timbres and with ideal balances … a translucent vividness that ensured details were transparent and meaningful. The choral singing, unfailingly sensitive … drew one into the narrative without point-making and was as characteristic as the playing in being notably and sustainably ‘different’… Susan Bickley (replacing Anna Stephany) was a very moving Angel… Adrian Thompson was magnificent at Gerontius… All in all, this was a revelatory, compelling and deeply involving performance…’ Read the rest of the review at www.classicalsource.com