The two cantatas are concerned with love either lost or realized, and Dessay and Haïm imbue them with grace and virtuosity in equal parts. Dessay's high notes no longer have the gleam they used to, but that gleam has been replaced with even greater sensitivity to the sculpting of the vocal line, and the listener never feels robbed. What the listener does miss in this recital is incisive diction and a true sense of drama; while the music is being well-served, a certain theatrical abandon is gone. Is this conscious? Were the two women looking for a mellow, chamber-like, understated approach? It's hard to tell. This is not to deter fans of the singer, conductor, or composer, since the music probably has never sounded more ravishing--but I can't help feeling that an unnecessary restraint has been placed on the whole undertaking for the sake of "art".

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com