Reviews
The Orthodox Spirit & Great Mystery Tours, June & July 2017
“Shaped and guided by the sensitive hands of conductor Paul Hillier, Chamber Choir Ireland continue to be sonically and musically adventurous.” The Journal of Music
The Orthodox Spirit, June 2017
The ensemble themselves are in great voice, the basses and altos especially, and the choir performs with a fullness of tone not always heard in vocal ensembles….The choir perform these pieces with colour and understanding, a fitting end to an insightful and transcendent evening of music.” Golden Plec
A Letter of Rights, Chamber Choir Ireland and Irish Chamber Orchestra, February 2017
“O’Regan’s setting is harmonically grounded, with the real beauty in the detail of the writing such as the delicate percussion or complex string textures. The work could scarcely receive a finer treatment than we hear tonight, and highlights the success in combining these two accomplished Irish ensembles.” Golden Plec
On tour with the Chatham Saxophone Quartet and Guest Director James Wood, October 2016
“the tone of Chamber Choir Ireland is liquid in its power and purity, beautifully balanced and pitched…The choir always made full use of its strong vocal flexibility of style, subtly varying the sound to suit the texture in the unaccompanied works by Britten, Gesualdo and Bruckner.” Rathcol, Belfast Telegraph
On performance in the Great Music in Irish Houses Festival 2016:
“Rarely have I heard such a rich tonal blend from a 16-voice choir, or heard the men of Chamber Choir Ireland under Paul Hillier sound as though they had the benefit of some kind of turbo booster to make them sound consistently larger than life. The effect was at once appealing and disconcerting, rather like a movie shot with filters that make for colour balances that are intriguing but not quite believable.” Michael Dervan, Irish Times
General:
“A choir whose exemplary standards of execution place them among a small handful of truly world-class musical ensembles currently active in Ireland” Culture Northern Ireland
“A choir at the peak of its achievement” Irish Times
Barry Meets Beethoven CD:
Chamber Choir Ireland featuring Crash Ensemble & Stephen Richardson, conducted by Paul Hillier
August/September 2016
“Superb work here from Chamber Choir Ireland supporting the verbally clear Stephen Richardson” BBC Music Magazine Double 5*
“The performers, all long-standing Barry interpreters, are in fine form.” Gramophone Magazine 5*
“Under Paul Hillier, Chamber Choir Ireland tackle each of the scores as if Barry’s out-there settings and markings were the most natural thing in the world, and make them sound as if they were exactly that. Tough, committed singing, done with vivid grace.” Choir and Organ Magazine, 4*
“Strong performances.” Irish Times 5*
Carols from the Old & New Worlds: The Observer CD review – Fiona Maddocks
5 / 5 stars
07/12/2014
Magic… Chamber Choir Ireland.
“The remarkable 16-strong Chamber Choir Ireland could sing the telephone directory and make it sound festive. Anyone who can turn a carol as hackneyed as O Come, All Ye Faithful into something not only bearable but vigorous and uplifting deserves high praise.”
Carols from the Old & New Worlds: Sunday Business Post Review– Dick O’Riordan
Carols with an historic ring
07/12/2014
“Chamber Choir Ireland is a world-class choral ensemble in every respect…the CD plus booklet contains 23 carols, many arranged by Hillier, and will be a real Christmas blessing for those who glory in the peace and beauty of plainchant and revel in its performance by a wonderful choir.”
Carols from the Old & New Worlds – Gramophone Magazine Review
December 2014
“It is an unassailably joyful listen…the biggest treat on this disc is the setting of Behold a silly tender babe, the tune being that most often associated – in more recent times – with Patrick Kavanagh’s poem On Raglan Road.”
Carols from the Old & New Worlds: Audiophile Audition Online CD review
November 2014
“The sixteen-member choir sings radiantly at All Hallows College Chapel in Dublin, captured to perfection as only Harmonia mundi can do in these types of choral outings…Glorious music for a glorious time of year, guaranteed to make the hardest hearts soften.”
Carols from the Old & New Worlds: AllMusic Online CD Review by James Manheim
November 2014
“Chamber Choir Ireland sounds superb on its home ground of Dublin, at All Hallows College Chapel.”
The Quincunx of Heaven – Chamber Choir Ireland at University Church 25 October 2014
27/10/2014
By Paul Meredith
Goldenplec
“The strength of Chamber Choir Ireland, under Hillier’s direction, is in the communication of hte composer’s intentions in a coherent and passionate manner.”
Paul Hillier conducts a new work by American composer David Lang at St Thomas’s Church in Belfast
16/04/2014
By Terry Blain
Culture Northern Ireland
“Imaginatively programmed recital, wonderfully sung by a choir whose exemplary standards of execution place them among a small handful of truly world-class musical ensembles currently active in Ireland.”
Chamber Choir Ireland’s programme at Newman University Church
16/04/2014
By Michael Dervan
“Hillier found just the right balance between sweetness and sharpness.”
Full review available on the Irish Times Archive
The National Chamber Choir of Ireland show their chops at St Thomas’s Parish Church
13/05/2013
By Terry Blain
Culture Northern Ireland
“Singing of this standard is a rarity”
National Chamber Choir of Ireland perform Arvo Pärt’s musical retelling of St John’s Passion narrative
26/03/2013
By Terry Blain
Culture Northern Ireland
“The performance given at St Peter’s is of world-class quality, and would grace any international platform.”