May 10, 2023

Hamburg & Hannover, Germany

"Even though the King's Singers stand for polyphonic harmony singing in perfection, this acoustic mixture only attains its perfection through the individual sound of each individual. The sextet's version of Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" opens with a delicately melting polyphony.And with a gently rhythmic "Blackbird" by the Beatles, the King's Singers also pay homage to some prominent songbirds of music history."
Hamburger Abendblatt, Hamburg

"György Ligeti, whose 100th birthday the music world commemorates this year, set passages from Carroll's work to music in his "Nonsense Madrigals". These six madrigals are so crazy,musically complex and profoundly funny that it is certainly worth listening to them several times. They demand a great deal of skill from the singers, but the King'sSingers master every atonal, rhythmic, intonational challenge with their customary aplomb - and never seem the least bit strained."

"The genius of the ensemble is also reflected in the programming. For instead of simply performing the "Nonsense Madrigals" one after the other, the singers juxtapose each madrigal with a piece by another composer that corresponds to its content. The combination of Ligeti's "Cuckoo in the Pear Tree" and the "Birdsong"composed by the Frenchman Clément Janequin in the 16th century is particularly amusing, but each of the six cleverly chosen pairings has its meaning and charm."
HAZ – Hannoversche Allgemeine, Hannover