new oratorio: Jerusalem-Yerushalayim

"Not yet 40, Antony Pitts, together with John Rutter and Taverner is perhaps one of the most sought-after British composers of contemporary choral works. He is already the recipient of several prestigious awards... The first Hyperion issue dedicated to choral works by this prodigious composer got some truly rave reviews, and this second disc will undoubtedly make its mark... TONUS PEREGRINUS... perform with spellbinding excitement matching spirituality with technical prowess. This is a sumptuously beautiful disc on all counts." CLASSICAL.NET (April 2008)

"Antony Pitts, a composer not yet 40 years of age, has rapidly crafted a place for himself as one of Britain's more enterprising writers of choral music.... The recording contains five works, captured most sensitively at Bromley Parish Church last year, and its ambitious pretext certainly marks it as a disc worthy of serious attention... This is a most successful recording, TONUS PEREGRINUS never wearied by the vastness of its task and the vision of Christ always palpable in the composer's creative insights." INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW (February 2008)

"One of the things that makes the sacred a cappella work of Antony Pitts (born 1969) stand out from that of the many excellent emerging choral composers of his generation is his fearless defiance of harmonic and melodic conventions; just when you think he's heading for an easy landing, he veers off into unexpected, exhilaratingly wild territory.... In the double quartet that he conducts, TONUS PEREGRINUS, Pitts has assembled an ensemble for which he can write with impunity. Their ability to negotiate the music's extreme demands is staggering, and they do it with wonderfully pure tone, warm blend, and impassioned expressiveness. Pitts is a composer to watch out for: these remarkably assured and compelling works should be of strong interest to any fan of contemporary choral music." ALLMUSIC (February 2008)

"...listeners who are at all au courant with the current choral scene will readily recognize Pitts's stylistic affinity with Paert and such other luminaries as Morten Lauridsen.....My first impulse on hearing this disc was to commend it unreservedly to each and every man, woman, and child on the planet, including those who think they don't like religious music, choral music, or music..." FANFARE, USA (November 2005)

"Pitts' own works display a remarkable control of structure and a gift for striking musical phrases (like the one pervading Adoro Te). The music has the cold fire of the ascetic; dissonance floods across pure lines like sudden wind across clear water..." OXFORD TODAY (Michaelmas 2005)

"...crowned by Antony Pitts's Tallis-inspired XL" CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE (September 2005)

"Antony Pitts's collection of choral music has the potential to be a real runaway success. His is a compositional voice of real personality and imagination.....here's a collection of new music that has immediate appeal" THE GRAMOPHONE (August 2005 – Editor's Choice)

"...the originality and inventiveness of the music bowled me over.....this is a disc to treasure." CLASSICAL.NET (August 2005)

"L'oeuvre de Pitts est fort interessante, lisible et par moments hyper-expressive, notamment la troisieme partie qui explose sur les paroles 'et dedit in ore meo'.....XL, comme excellence!" CLASSICS TODAY, FRANCE (July/August 2005)

"...it is enormously encouraging that every bar of his music is eminently singable..." INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW (July/August 2005)

"This collection of pieces indicates that Antony Pitts is an original and thoughtful composer with his own distinctive voice......Pitts writes well for the human voice and, crucially, has a discerning eye for a text and for verbal imagery." MUSIC WEB (July 2005)

"A good amateur choir will easily be able to perform these pieces. Less confident singers are unlikely to be intimidated by the task of learning a handful of the arrangements within a few weeks in preparation for a Christmas service or concert, and the accompaniments are not difficult.....Whether a few of these carols are interspersed with seasonal music by other composers, or whether they form a Pitts Nine Lessons and Carols the results should be refreshing and rewarding." CHOIR & ORGAN (September/October 2004)

"Naxos Records took a forward-looking step, commissioning an Advent Sequence of Carols from Antony Pitts.....These arrangements are intended for widespread use.....and, for the most part, do not stray from the soprano, alto, tenor, baritone paradigm.....Collectively, this sequence of carols is almost an assembled oratorio, expertly dissolved in the Spirit.....indeed, it is Antony Pitts' informed scoring and composition that makes this set the treasure it is." ALL ABOUT JAZZ (December 2003)

"Pitts's variants are original, sometimes even playful: it's hard to resist the obsessive downward scales in Good King Wenceslas, for instance. And I suspect they're eminently singable by good amateur choirs..." THE SUNDAY TIMES (December 2003)