Peter Pears, CBS Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Britten, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli - Benjamin Britten: Les Illuminations, Sinfonia Da Requiem

Three recordings from 1941, publicly available for the first time following transfer from the original 78rpm discs and lengthy subsequent treatment: the centrepiece is an off-air recording of the American premiere of Les Illuminations with Peter Pears.'These are historical documents of importance ... Technically wonders have been done to what appear to be intractable originals. All Britten and Pears specialists will want the issue to which Colin Matthews contributes authoritative annotations.' Gramophone'Les Illuminations emerges as a lovely and impassioned work in the hands of a very young Peter Pears' MusicWeb International'Fievreuse est la musique, emportee, sur des ostinati de cordes, qui doublent le rythme, servie par la voix lineaire, d'une froide et impitoyable purete de Sandrine Piau, parfaitement adaptee aux elans incisifs qui s'ornent soudain de chromatismes et d'arabesques inattendues.' Clic Mag