With his 78rpm recording of Hear my prayer (now transferred to CD—EMI (CD) CDH7 63827-2), Ernest Lough became one of the most famous singers in the world. More recently Aled Jones could almost be said to have made a third (with Nigel Kennedy and Luciano Pavarotti) in the league of 'classical' musicians with a place in 'the charts'. Jeremy Budd will probably go on his way without achieving such celebrity, but it will not be for want of merit. On the contrary, the control, range, purity, accurate placing and intelligent musicianship of his singing on this disc are totally admirable. To take a few test points, hear the finely controlled diminuendo on the last ''O God, hear my cry'' in the Mendelssohn, or the five top Cs of the Miserere, or the assured command of modern idiom in Jonathan Harvey's Come, Holy Ghost. Best of all, listen to (and try breathing with) the solo from Brahms's Requiem. This is one of the supreme tests of a mature, highly trained lyric soprano, who has her work cut out to span these long phrases and keep the notes steady and well-bound. The technical problems seem simply to vanish here, and all that remains is the music of consolation and blessedness of spirit.
So full marks to this excellent singer, and grateful acknowledgement, too, of the finely judged accompaniments by the organist, Andrew Lucas. But this is essentially a choral record, with the treble soloist playing an unusually prominent part. The choir sings splendidly throughout, and performances as accomplished as that of the Come, Holy Ghost reflect great credit upon John Scott's work with them. It is also good to find modern choral writing assimilated into the cathedral tradition, Tavener's I will lift up mine eyes being particularly impressive in its clarity and its variety of textures. But all the music gives pleasure here: Bernard Rose's affectionate setting of his son's words (somewhat blurred by the echo), Stanford's songlike Magnificat, Britten's syncopations in the Te Deum, and the melancholy intervals of the anthem by Michael Wise (he who cheeked the nightwatchman of Salisbury who thereupon knocked him on the head and killed him).'