A highlight of the programme was The Drowned Lovers, a vivid work- featuring the dark, plangent Mezzo of soloist Martha McLorinan- by Judith Bingham.
Limelight, January 2020
Written by Angus McPherson
Bingham: The Drowned Lovers
Tenebrae, City Recital Hall, Sydney
Bach: B Minor Mass
Ex Cathedra, Birmingham Town Hall
Lawrence White was soloist in that movement, a superb example of Skidmore’s policy of drawing vocal soloists from within his choral forces. Another, among many, was Martha McLorinan, with her sorrowing, Pieta-like “Agnus Dei”.
midlandsmusicreviews.com, December 2019
Written by Christopher Morley
Bingham: A Walk with Ivor Gurney
Tenebrae, Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
Mezzo Martha McLorinan, the evening’s soloist, is a phenomenon, with a rich, expressive voice.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 2019
Written by Sarah Bryan Miller
Rachmaninoff Vespers
Ex Cathedra, Gloucester Cathedral, Three Choirs Festival
Mezzo soprano Martha McLorinan and tenor Jeremy Budd gave of their all to a hushed audience with perfect phrasing and impressive Russian script throughout.
Midlandsmusicreviews.com, October 2019
Written by Maggie Cotton
Bach: B Minor Mass
Gabrieli Consort and Players, Kloster Eberbach
Das Fließende Ineinander von Solo- und Chorgesang ergibt vielfältige Abstufungen swischen großem, prachtvollem Klang in den Tutti und und Seelenvollem, leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck in den Soli. Charlotte Shaw und Martha McLorinan, Matthew Long und Matthew Brook glänzen mit lebendiger Genauigkeit ganz im Dienst der großen Sache, ohne aufgesetzte Attitüde.
(The flowing intertwining of solo and choral singing results in a variety of gradations between great magnificent sound in the tutti and soulful, passionate expression in the solos. Charlotte Shaw, Martha McLorinan, Matthew Long and Matthew Brook shine with vivid accuracy in service of the great thing, without a set attitude.)
Bürstädter Zeitung, August 2019
Written by Dietrich Stern
Rachmaninoff's Vespers
Ex Cathedra, Gloucester Cathedral
The second movement, ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul’ introduced us to the mezzo soloist, Martha McLorinan. I remember that at last year’s Three Choirs Festival, singing with Tenebrae, she took the crucial solo role in Judith Bingham’s ‘A Walk with Ivor Gurney’. She impressed me then and here, in a very different musical context, I admired her singing once again. Her tone was lustrous, and she voiced the music in a gently expressive way that was entirely appropriate.
seenandheard-international.com, July 2019
Written by John Quinn
Bach's St. Matthew Passion
Ex Cathedra, Birmingham Symphony Hall
The alto aria “Erbarme dich” was sung superbly by Martha McLorinan, who beautifully conveyed the deep sorrow of the text, and the solo violin passage which opens the aria was given a gorgeous fluidity from Orchestra 1 leader Lucy Russell.
The Artsdesk, April 2019
Written by Miranda Heggie
Bach's St. Matthew Passion
Ex Cathedra, St. George's Brandon Hill
Soloists Charles Daniels, Marcus Farnsworth and Martha McLorinan were outstanding… Martha McLorinan- singing the first alto solos- had a warm expressivity notably in the aria Erbarme Dich
The Guardian, April 2019
Written by Rian Evans
Roth: A Time to be Born and a Time to Die
Ex Cathedra, The Brammell concert hall
The alto soloist, Martha McLorinan, with a richly glowing tone, had a touching Aztec cradle song- a moving interpolation; and nurtured finely the lilting setting of a tragic mini-ballad by Mary Coleridge.
The Church Times, February 2019
Written by Roderick Dunnet
Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
Sir Roger Norrington and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall
Lucy Crowe, with honeyed tone and impeccable control, brought Belinda to life, and Edward Grint, on top form and ably supported by two malevolent witches (Martha McLorinan and Anna Harvey) and a cackling choir, cast his spells with just the right element of pantomime evil.
seenandheardinternational.com, February 2019
Written by Chris Sallon