finely judged, delightfully youthful performances...Hough finds a language, a style, a startling response for the unique and elusive scent of each poem. There are solos and various pairings of voices, interwoven with often surprising and always thrilling piano writing.

Hogarth and his mightily talented vocal ensemble shape imaginative readings of each song in turn, introducing subtle tempo changes and vivid tonal contrasts to give rich life to their often dark-hearted texts and real soul to Brahms's music...The compelling emotional contrasts of this album may stem from its sage repertoire choice, but it's the top-drawer performances and sound recording that separate this outstanding release from the crowd.

The performers, including Hough himself as one of the pianists, do [Other Love Songs] proud. Soprano Anna Leese, bright and vibrant of tone, rises poignantly to the impassionaed climax of 'Kashmiri Song', while mezzo Jennifer Johnson, singing in broad Scouse, offers a delightful comic cameo as the feisty maid in "Madam and her Madam"...A clinching factor here may well be the Hough songs, acerbically witty and deeply touching by turns.

They are throughout crisp, fresh, speedy, intelligent, well recorded, with good German [in the Brahms], and I like the way in particular they create the occasional mini-drama, either by performing pairs of pieces seamlessly, or even by pitting male and female solos against each other...Hough is clearly possessed of both technique and vision as a composer.

it was a bright idea of the group to ask Stephen Hough to compose a song cycle for the same lineup to separate the two helpings of Brahms, and perhaps to provide some palate-cleansing astringency...The sequence is perfectly judged, wittily allusive and serves its purpose perfectly. I suspect, in fact, that most who buy the disc will listen to Hough's songs more than the Brahms that flanks them.

a performance of sparkle and precision, restoring muscularity to Brahms's charming part-songs...[Hough's song-cycle is] a touching companion to the Brahms...Hough celebrates other kinds of love, religious, gay and in the broadest sense fraternal. The piano writing, not surprisingly given Hough's day job, is original and beguiling, the performances first rate.