Presto Editor’s Choice – October 2020                 Presto Recordings of the Year – Finalist 2020

Reviews

“beautifully dissonant choral harmonies. . .”
“an appealingly imaginative listening experience.” – Gramophone, March 2021 (read the full review)

“. . .this mesmerising album . . . is the perfect companion for a long winter’s evening, and springs surprises at every turn.” – Presto Classical, October 2020 (read the full review)

“Five Rune Poems act as a bitingly primitive framework to a wider array of settings, some like Seed Spell implying a kind of medieval pop song, others such as Fire and Sky Lights using wraparound dissonance to enhance their mystical enchantment.” – The Scotsman, November 2020 (read the full review)

“Riddle Songs is a delight. It’s as novel and refreshing as the texts are ancient and enchanting. Performances and sound are exemplary.” – MusicWeb International, December 2020 (read the full review)

“It’s a delight to discover an album steeped in history and heritage that, crucially, sounds so contemporary. A stunningly well-realised work.” – Art Muse London, November 2020 (read the full review)

“a beautifully crafted piece of work, the concept well thought out, researched and documented in the extensive liner notes, and the recording is simply sublime.” – Open College of the Arts, November 2020 (read the full review)

“a beautiful and well crafted collection of unique tracks” – Secret Archives of the Vatican, October 2020 (read the full review)

“transparent purity” (“transparante puurheid”) – Mixed World Music, November 2020 (read the full review)

Interviews

“Conner’s understanding of history and academic concepts and ideas, whilst admirable, is not the only thing that is impressive about her work. The music itself is often soft and beautiful, but it is her voice that stands out.” – 200 World Albums, January 2021 (read the full interview)

“Riddle Songs is kind of like one of those grandiose prog rock concept albums of the 1970s, but in the choral idiom. . .” – Stef Conner, interview by LaLaLa Records, November 2020 (read the full interview)

“In a way, history is something we create ourselves every time we engage with it. . .” – Stef Conner, interview by Benjamin Tassie for Resonance FM’s Future Renaissance (listen here)

“When today we experience the hardship of isolation that fell on us with the declaration of the coronavirus pandemic, let’s remember that isolation was also an extremely important topic in Old English poetry.” (Gdy dziś ciężko przeżywamy życie w odosobnieniu, które spadło na nas wraz z ogłoszeniem pandemii koronawirusa, pamiętajmy, że izolacja była także niezwykle ważnym tematem w poezji staroangielskiej) – Polskie Radio, October 2020 (listen to the full interview here)