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Great news, La Gracieuse was selected as the Editor’s Choice in October’s Gramophone Magazine!

the music is shaped with such psychic tenderness that it is easy to overlook that we are listening to multiple people here joined in harmonic telepathy

Mark Seow, Gramophone October 2019

Read the full article here. Gramophone also ran a mini interview, and here’s an extract:

Here’s an excerpt from a review of the Marais CD in September’s The Strad:

Smith is completely at home in the music’s intricate idiom; with him, embellishments – including vibrato – are always convincingly integrated into the melodic line, agogics never calling attention to themselves. His variegated handling of chords runs the gamut from polyphonic clarity in the fugal movements to the gruff eruptions of the late, enigmatic ‘la Maupertuy’.

Carlos María Solare, The Strad, September 2019

And here’s a link to the full article.

A lovely review for the Marais CD in September’s edition of BBC Music Magazine:

I had a lovely time on Radio4.nl last week, on De Muziek Fabriek programme with Jet Berkhout. On the show I presented my new composition, inspired by Henry Purcell’s famous Dido’s Lament. They made a video of this with a light-hearted introduction. You can see it on Facebook via this link (no account needed):

Nice review in Crescendo Magazine (Germany):

Klänge von wehmütiger und einmaliger Schönheit, aus den Händen virtuoser Interpreten.  

Sounds of wistful and unique beauty, from the hands of virtuoso performers.

Article in Dutch in today’s Trouw newspaper: https://www.trouw.nl/cs-be5e7ac2

On the day of it’s release, La Gracieuse was covered on BBC Radio 3’s Record Review by Andrew McGregor:

I love this next new release. It’s a beautiful selection of pieces by early eighteenth century French viol virtuoso Marin Marais … performed with sinuous grace by gamba player Robert Smith.

Andrew McGregor, BBC Radio 3 Record Review, 2nd August 2019

More recently, on the 18th August, it was selected as Vox Nostra’s “Sunday Sonata” on RTE Lyric FM (Ireland) with host Vlad Smishkewych summing it up as:

Stunning playing and wonderful musicianship from this ensemble of consummate players

Vlad Smishkewych, Vox Nostra RTE Lyric FM, 18th August 2019

I’m happy to announce that the Marais CD that I recorded earlier this year will be released on the 2nd August 2019 on Resonus Classics. The editing process is now finished, and is sounding very exciting with loads of contrasts and colours – can’t wait for you all to hear it!