Hayes: The Passions · An Ode for Music (Oxford 1750)

“...the qualities of Hayes's composition emerge impressively in this excellent performance...Rooley's direction conveys the narrative of the ode astutely and demonstrates that Hayes's imaginative music is long overdue such tender loving cares.” --Gramophone Magazine, September 2010

“[Hayes] is revealed as a significant talent in this rendition of The Passions...Varied instrumentation, jubilant choruses, seductive arias and dazzling recitatives should bring him belated fame.” --The Independent on Sunday, July 2010

“The sheer inventiveness of Hayes's imitative writing is at the heart of the immediate and enduring appeal of The Passions...the performance may be marked by a winning, youthful enthusiasm, but standards from this international cast of fresh talent are entirely professional.” --International Record Review, September 2010

“Although the score is full of Handelian resonances, it has a real character of its own and manages to be both smoothly lyrical and wildly pictorial, performed with splendid sprightliness by forces from Basle under early music veteran Anthony Rooley.” --The Observer, 30th May 2010

“...this tale of emotions harmonised in music is hugely enjoyable, and in parts dazzling. Try the songs Cheerfulness and Joy, brimming with English vigour; while Melancholy charms with wonderful atmospheric beauty. The two sopranos steal the honours among the Basel forces.” --The Times, 5th June 2010 ****

“Hayes’s score, which Rooley encountered in the British Museum, is inventive, expressive, vividly orchestrated, and here sung and played with the right mix of discipline and spontaneity.” --Sunday Times, 11th July 2010 ****