"His style recalls Grieg or Dvořák, ...several offer gloriously indelible earworms. Llewellyn soars through them, Lepper skilfully catching each song’s character; it’s not surprise that her voice is on the big side for some, but when the music requires poised stillness she is especially captivating." -The Guardian

"The stylish charm – graceful decorations, languorous syncopations – and exquisite floating pianissimos of You lay so still in the sunshine suggest an urbane gentility, but a sensuousness infuses the softness with an electrical charge which is mesmerising and magical" - Opera Today

"The seven African Romances are generally lighter in tone, though the contemplative poignancy of A Prayer is sensitively caught by Llewellyn, and sticks in the memory. Her operatic muscle flexes again at the welling conclusion of Thou art risen, my beloved, where she crescendos thrillingly on its final syllable." - BBC Music Magazine

‍

"Soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn’s debut recital album consolidates the favourable impression she made on Martyn Brabbins’ superb Hyperion recordings of Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony and Elgar’s Caractacus. This time, she and her exemplary accompanist, Simon Lepper, lavish their considerable skills on the extensive song output of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor... An irresistible anthology, in sum." - Gramaphone

‍

"Throughout, Llewellyn does Coleridge-Taylor’s work poetic justice. Her instrument is lustrous, precise and feather-light. Melodies are ideally weighed and measured as Llewellyn digs fiercely into the meaning of each gesture, bringing ceaseless variety, fluid dynamics and – not infrequently – a quite magical quality to her phrasing. Lepper’s fingerwork is exceptional and he exhibits a gleamingly blended tonal quality in his pianism. It’s hard to imagine a duo better suited to this repertoire, with both musicians bringing distinct and deeply interiorized readings to complement each other’s execution of these utterly beautiful songs." - The Whole Note

"Llewellyn’s debut recording has been well worth the wait, both in terms of programming and execution: her big, richly-coloured lyric soprano and mature artistry do full justice to this glorious programme of songs by the Anglo-African composer, from the casual, cabaretesque charm of Big Lady Moon to the expansive intensity of Thou art risen, my beloved" - Presto Music's Editor's Choice

"Coleridge-Taylor’s word-setting is of the highest quality, allied to an easy melodic facility and evocative mood-painting. Llewellyn’s rich soprano suggests the sensuality of Big Lady Moon, a sort of secular spiritual..." - The Sunday Times' Album of the Week

‍

‍

‍

‍