Reviews

International record Review: review of Dubra's 'Hail, Queen of Heaven'

(Jan, 2010 – Ivan Moody)
“I cannot imagine that the composer can have heard his music better sung than here.”

Classical Source: review of Dubra's 'Hail, Queen of Heaven'

(Jan, 2010 – Graham Rogers)
“Rupert Gough and the excellent Choir of Royal Holloway are terrific advocates for this repertoire. The choristers sound as fluent with and as dedicated to Dubra’s music as if they had been singing it all their lives.”

Choir and Organ: review of Dubra's 'Hail, Queen of Heaven'

(Dec, 2009 – Philip Reed)
“Rupert Gough and his admirable Royal Holloway Choir give lovingly prepared and committed performances. Warmly recommended.”

Classic FM Magazine: review of Dubra's 'Hail, Queen of Heaven'

(Dec, 2009 – Andrew Stewart)
“Royal Holloway's fabulous choristers and their inspired conductor convey the purity and spiritual fervour of Dubra's ear-catching output.”

Town Topics, Princeton

(June, 2009 – Nancy Plum)
“Visiting musical ensembles, especially from overseas, can be a real inspiration to the local organisations. From time to time, these gems drop into the laps of a community, and such was the case last Tuesday night when the Choir of Royal Holloway performed at Princeton University Chapel. The Choir of Royal Holloway is certainly, to the American audiences at least, yet another of the unknown performance treasures from overseas.”

The Church Times

(May, 2009 – Roderick Dunnett)
“Of all London’s college, or college-plus choirs, that of the Royal Holloway College can justly claim to be one of the most polished and accomplished. This lucid, 28-strong chamber choir is roaring from strength to strength. At its latest concert, in the Cadogan Hall off Sloane Square, the choir instantly unveiled its most admirable credentials.”

MusicWeb International

(Feb, 2009 – John Quinn)
“The performances by the Royal Holloway choir are excellent—I especially admire the choir’s blend and their clear, fresh sound. They are sympathetically recorded and the engineers achieve a good balance between the choir and the accomplished organ playing of Samuel Rathbone.”

Classics Online

(June, 2008 – John France)
“The singing is great, the sound quality perfect and the programme notes are well written and informative. I look forward to more offerings from this impressive, competent and obviously committed choir and from Rupert Gough their director.”

Gramophone

(May, 2008 – John Steane)
“What more can you possibly ask for? Here is a choir of 23 young singers, fresh of tone and fresh of mind, careful and accurate over their notes yet giving the impression that it all comes naturally. Collectively they have a keen feeling for rhythm. They enunciate clearly but without making a point of it. They blend perfectly, they shade sensitively, they appear to work with a like mind towards an agreed ideal of choral sound.”

The Times (London)

(March 22, 2008 – Rick Jones)
“The mixed choir of Royal Holloway College makes a truly fabulous sound under the assured direction of Rupert Gough. The title track, a setting of the well-known Communion text by Gabriel Jackson, is a serene vehicle for these beautifully pure voices. The soprano line in particular is a blemishless thread. The basses are nimble: few ever manage the “thundering” in Weelkes’s Alleluia with such precision. The choir is coolly contemporary in Pärt’s Magnificat, romantically heroic in Bruckner's Christus Factus, and breathtakingly expressive in Weelkes’s When David Heard.”

Music Web International review of Messiah in Exeter Cathedral

(Dec, 2007 – Bill Kenny)
“A Messiah performed to perfection. This was essentially a small scale, light-touch Messiah although with more than enough power to fill the Cathedral's vast spaces. Taken along at a distinctly sprightly pace, the young choristers - about thirty all told - tackled Handel’s familiar but oddly tricky score with great accuracy, excellent ensemble and impeccable tuning.”

Winchester Chronicle review of Messiah in Winchester Cathedral

(Dec, 2007 – Harry White)
“The Royal Holloway University Choir…portraying a vivid sense of the work’s potent drama. In particular, Sopranos and Tenors conveyed a confidence and purity of tone that resonated wonderfully within the Cathedral’s vast space.”