Maryvonne Colombani, Zébuline, October 2022- Sacred Spring - Musicatreize
"The voices, placed with precision, are pure and soaring. At times a slight natural vibrato adds to their meaning. "The choir gathers on most of the pieces the whole ensemble, mezzo-sopranos, Eulàlia Fantova Alvarez, Clémence Faber, contraltos, Julie Azoulay, Lauriane Le Prev, tenors, Olivier Merlin, Matthieu Chapuis, basses, Guglielmo Buonsanti, Sebastien Brohier, but sometimes it is satisfied with the presence of four or six voices. The originality of this choir lies in the union of male and female voices, which some purists insist on separating when it comes to early music. [...] This necessary step leads [...] to Heinrich Isaac's dazzling Virgo Prudentissima, a true masterpiece with constantly renewed, alternating, woven, intertwined threads, taken up again in a supple circulation between the different desks. An impression of plenitude emanates from it that transports the audience."The word is music, sumptuous in its incandescence.
Frédéric Norac - Musicologie.org, July 2022 - O Sidera - Abbaye de Noirlac
"In the ideally ventilated acoustics of the monks' refectory, the Irini ("peace" in Greek) ensemble displays all the splendor of 14th century Latin polyphony, with the Chant des Sybilles by Roland de Lassus. We admire the quality of the ensemble, its homogeneity, its tonal hyper-precision in the Latin pieces, but it is especially in the Byzantine part that the magic fully operates "
"We particularly retain this "Cheruvikon" (Hymn of the Cherubim), a long sequence where the voices take turns from the lowest to the highest, against a background of an astonishing faux-bourdon supported by the bass Sébastien Brohier. If the ensemble proves to be particularly balanced, the solo parts offered by the Byzantine pieces allow us to appreciate the flavor of each of the voices that compose it, the two female voices, the suave soprano of Eulalia Fantova and the delicately nuanced contralto of Julie Azoulay, the tenor of a beautiful clarity of Benoît-Joseph Meier and the round and warm bass of Guglielmo Buonsanti, as well as the deeper voice already mentioned. Most of the pieces have been arranged by the conductor of the ensemble, Lila Hajosi, in a spirit that seems to be of perfect authenticity. She conducts with precision and flexibility, using a censer for the last two pieces, from which one could easily imagine the purifying smoke coming out [...] ".Charlotte Saulneron, Resmusica, April 2022
Of the order of the impalpable, the new disc of the Irini O Sidera ensemble blends East and West with a mystical depth that each listener will perceive deep inside. (...)
This interpretation by Eulalià Fantova (mezzo-soprano), Julie Azoulay (contralto), Benoît-Joseph Meier (tenor), Guglielmo Buonsanti and Alessandro Ravasio (basses), seems to be meticulously sculpted, or approached like a learned mathematical model. (...)
With these liturgical arias, time is lengthened for a vibrant spiritual trance that no longer requires words. more
Émilie Munera , Program " En-pistes! France Musique, February 2022
"A very beautiful record"
"Very beautiful journey between East and West carried by the 5 voices of the ensemble"
"Mystical journey totally successful"
Soline Heurtebise, Ôlyrix, February 2022
Refined and powerful, the sound elaboration is rich, carried by the voices of the five soloists of the ensemble.
The high notes of mezzo Eulalia Fantova sound deep, ornamented with austere accuracy and pure line. The clearer voice of contralto Julie Azoulay is particularly resonant in the Byzantine repertoire. Alessandro Ravasio impresses with an abysmal bass voice, complex, flexible and very operatic. Guglielmo Buonsanti, on the other hand, has the austere, calm and composed prosody of the low orthodox. More baroque, the tenor Benoît-Joseph Meier offers himself with a lively, supple and precise voice.
The prosody typical of Madrigalist music is thus offered with powerful accents, under the direction of the musicologist and young conductor Lila Hajosi. The music rises up and suspends time with these airy voices, between wisdom and the power of seizure, quite a journey. More details
Christine Ducq, La Revue du spectacle, December 2021
The Irini ensemble combines dramatic efficiency and expressive depth, serving this contrapuntal writing with subtlety and heart.
(...) the ensemble takes us out of our noisy and dark world for a luminous journey beyond the known borders, and invites us to a "contemplation of its share of infinity".
After the sibyls, Irini's singers become six-winged cherubs. It is always a question of raising our eyes to the heavens to question the mystery of the universe. Let us note the high view of the introductory text of her beautiful project by Lila Hajosi in the CD booklet, entitled A song without entertainment, which calls for a demanding and, let us say, philosophical listening - for a moment marked by spirituality.
Gérard Pangon, Musikzen, December 2021
(...) These Prophecies are a dive into mystery. Interpreting these scores full of sharps and flats is therefore a challenge of the kind taken up quietly by Ensemble Irini, which is inclined towards rather mystical and little-known a capella repertoires. What is more, in order to stress the need for spiritual introspection and to try to bring 'Man [...] back into the groove of a symbiotic awareness of his existence' (Lila Hajosi), the programme adds to the music of Roland de Lassus some liturgical pieces from Constantinople, endowed with the same meditative virtues. More details
Bettina Winkler, SWR2, December 2021
A happy mix of aesthetics and a result that is worthy of the efforts made. A Christmas favourite. More details
Thierry Vagne, Classical Music & Co, November 2021
(...) a very beautiful interiority. The disc alternates de Lassus' Prophecies of the Sybil with Byzantine liturgical chants. The pieces by de Lassus are slow, rather low key, despite the presence of a mezzo and a contralto. Some anonymous pieces from Constantinople bring a welcome animation.
A very careful performance by the Irini Ensemble conducted by Lila Hajosi.
Soline Heurtebise, Ôlyrix, November 2021
Celestial music, suspended time and aerial voices, the Irini Ensemble succeeds in dematerialising our modern world towards the musical areas of the European renaissance and Byzantine music (...) Here, more intimate, more minimalist and precise, the Irini Ensemble allows an approach to medieval musical lines with the precision of an architecture supervised by the young conductor. Currently training with Sergio Monterisi, the vocal mastery of the conductor allows the ensemble to be very coherent, both in vocal expression and in musical choices.
Frédérick Casadesus, Mediapart, November 2021
(...) Listening to these artists, seeing them work, how can we not have the feeling that our era, despite its pains, is also marked by a thousand promises? Enjoy your listening and your day!
Stéphane Loison, VieilleCarne, November 2021
O Sidera enchants me with its vocal qualities, and that's good enough. Yes, we are no longer in the Renaissance, of this fear of original sin, and of all this mythology which gave birth to these superb musics. (...) But as for me, poor sinner, I am ready to consume without moderation the Irini Ensemble, as a quality entertainment, and I advise the reader to do the same for his greatest pleasure and without any qualms. Amen!
Jérôme Gillet, Froggydelight.com, October 2021
(...) The interpretation is as inspired, mystical, almost metaphysical as it is mysterious (there is something mysterious about this function of chromaticism). A record that speaks to the ears as well as to the soul...
René Cocq, Luister, October 2021
Vocally, the motets are extremely demanding and in this performance by Ensemble Irini under the direction of Lila Hajosi, they are impressive for the virtuoso swirls of the voices and their fiery harmonies.
Cécile Chéraqui, Classica, February 2019
(...) This first recording of the Irini ensemble is a marvel of softness, intimacy and homogeneity. Indeed, rarely have timbres and tessituras been so well matched, despite the different backgrounds and universes of the singers. The sheer volume of this three-voice ensemble, with its surprisingly low tessitura, makes us listen to the album with delight (...).