Listener Magazine, USA July/August, 2000

by Chris Beeching

“From a long term point of view the Beauhorns are very easy to live with. Once you’ve got used to their looks [he calls them ‘Victorian’ – we like to think they’re more Edwardian] you can treat them like a piece of fine furniture. But musically they’ll have you listening with new ears. Somehow they seem to let you in to so much of the performance. My wife and I ran the usual favourites of classical and jazz and then embarked on some less-often-played material. Shania Twain, marching bands, barrel-organ music, …some spoken word… . The Beauhorns made each listening experience satisfying, even revelatory.

“But it has to be said that on voices they are supreme. Stanford’s Magnificat in B was aural poetry, and vocalists like Suzanne Vega, Beverley Craven, and even Emma Kirkby were so so good that repeated playings were called for. The massed strings in Barber’s Adagio and the full orchestra and double choir in Delius’ Mass of Life were all presented so well that you could easily get lost and believe you were there – and there aren’t many speaker systems that let you really do that.”

There’s lots, lots more to read, including single-driver theory, so send for a copy via our ‘feedback’ page and then and settle down for a good read.”