'The enterprising Berkeley Ensemble has set up ‘The New Cobbett Prize or Chamber Music’, inspired by Walter Wilson Cobbett’s early 20th-century original. Here are the first fruits, in meticulous performances.'
BBC Music Magazine

'Cobbett was an open-minded soul, and he would surely have been delighted at the range of styles and the depth of imagination in the three winning pieces included here. The spirit of Messiaen hovers over Barnaby Martin’s Lazarus [...] Samuel Wesley Lewis’s Sequenza probably comes closest to the Phantasy form as Cobbett would have recognised it [...] it’s performed with energy, sensitivity and superb refinement; bass player Lachlan Radford plays with particular subtlety and expression.'
Gramophone

'A fascinating disc, well programmed and played with splendid commitment.'
MusicWeb International

'Barnaby Martin’s Lazarus colourfully reflects the biblical tale; Samuel Wesley Lewis’s Sequenza adeptly explores string textures; but Laurence Osborn’s Living Floors, cello and bass evoking ancient bone scraping ancient stone, impresses most.'
The Sunday Times

'Lewis’s Sequenza, for string quartet and double bass, is an expert piece of string writing, though in many ways it’s a much less striking composition than either Laurence Osborn’s visceral exploration of string textures in Living Floors for cello and double bass, or Barnaby Martin’s haunting septet Lazarus'
The Guardian

'Excitingly original new works by Barnaby Martin, Samuel Lewis and Laurence Osborn sit alongside the piece that won the original prize, William Hurlstone’s lovely Phantasie from 1907. Recommended.'
The Observer