PRESS

"Lasting some 63 minutes, Twining’s Chrysalid Requiem is one of the most ambitious, mystifying, and deeply moving works, if not indeed the most, that has ever been penned and performed using microtonal methods." Kyle Gann, The Arithmatic of Listening: Tuning Theory and the History of the Impractical Musician

“…a fabulous, mysterious aural experience.” -Stephen Eddins, allmusic.com

“…powerful, evocative, and downright pretty.” -Daniel Felsenfeld, ClassicsToday.com

“Twining’s Eurydice remarkably transcends the greatness that audiences may already know from…Monteverdi’s Orfeo.” -David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer

“…a wide range of vocal techniques and sounds…energetic counterpoint…colorful…mournful.” -Vivien Schweitzer, New York Times

“…a sound that is not like any other” –allmusic.com

“Twining’s approach is truly weird and brilliant, and will not be mistaken for some less sophisticated phenomenon. This is an intricate and elaborate work.” -Kyle Gann, Village Voice

“Using elements as diverse as jazz improvisation, contemporary classical pointillism and repetitions, ethnic throat singing, doo-wop, yodels, vocal sound effects and a few utterly unclassifiable techniques that are uniquely their own, the ensemble is setting a standard for the stylistically unrestricted exploration of voice music. Toby Twining Music is an unquestionable original.” -Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times

“What’s startling is that Toby Twining’s music…is a synthesis of elements unlike anything heard outside cutting-edge downtown Manhattan art circles. Maybe not even there. Significant musical innovation is happening where you don’t expect it.” -David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer

“There’s good music, there’s great music, and every once in a while there’s mind-blowing music. I can’t recommend this disc highly enough.” -Payton MacDonald, American Record Guide, reviewing Chrysalid Requiem (Cantaloupe, 2002)

“Toby Twining offers a moving, multi-dimensional piece, a sort of Rachmaninoff’s Vespers for the new millennium, one that may well help to re-define choral writing from here on out.” -Daniel Felsenfeld, ClassicsToday.com reviewing Chrysalid Requiem

“The music has such immediate appeal and is so emotionally expressive that the [Eurydice] album can be appreciated by traditional listeners willing to dip their toes into music from off the beaten path, as well as die-hard fans of the avant-garde. Highly recommended.” -Stephen Eddins, allmusic.com

“Its strength comes from its relative stillness and the group’s ability to convey the awe in its subject, with vaporous chills hovering above the deep foundation of chanted baritone.” -Glenn Swan, allmusic.com reviewing Shaman (SONY, 1994; digital re-release 2011)