Highlights include the gorgeous solo singing of both treble Stefan Roberts (what an unusually rich, full-bodied sound!) and tenor Rogers Covey-Crump, whose rendition of Blessed is he that fears the Lord fully exploits--in the best sense of the term--the expressive virtues of one of Byrd's most beautiful melodies. Organist Ryan Leonard proves his virtuoso mettle (and Byrd's!) in the wonderful Fantasia in A minor, and the choir and viol consort, as we might expect in this repertoire, are superb.

My only reservation concerns the sound and listener perspective: the already bright treble, not in itself a bad thing, tends to take on a harsh edge at times and dominates the balance; by contrast, detail in the internal choral parts and bass is often difficult to discern--perhaps just an artifact of cathedral acoustics, but one that weakens the full flavor of such passages as the juicy "Amen" at the close of O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth. Nevertheless, Byrd enthusiasts should not hesitate to plunge in to what turns out to be one of the more uplifting, engagingly programmed, expertly performed 71 minutes of music I've heard in a long time.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com