[Sophie Bevan] sings with a full feminine tone, enchanting in the slow movements, while her sister Mary sings arias from Handel's 1709 Venetian opera, Agrippina…the surprise is Benjamin Bevan, best known for his work in 19th and 20th-century opera but secure and stylish in the bass cantata Cuopre tal volta il cielo.

this is as polished an account as any on account of Sophie Bevan's unerring sense of decorum for what each movement requires, from intimate piety to extrovert flair. Her sister Mary sings vibrantly in contrasting arias…[and] their uncle Benjamin chips in with an extrovert performance of the cantata Cuopre tal volta il cielo.

All make outstanding contributions to the CD.

it opens an enjoyable showcase for Sophie, Mary and Benjamin Bevan: two sisters and their youthful uncle. Sophie sings it peachily, with a richer-sounding soprano than previous recorded exponents. The baritone cantata, stylishly sung, is a rarity, and the accompaniments and Cunningham’s dispatch of a harpsichord sonata are spry.

London Early Opera’s new project gets off to an odd start, with the Gloria discovered in 2001, which may not actually date from the Italian years, but no one is going to object when it is so dazzlingly sung by Sophie Bevan. Other members of the remarkable Bevan family clan match her: soprano Mary contributes arias from opera and oratorio, while baritone Benjamin offers a fine cantata.

if all six [discs] are put together with the same care as these two, and directed with the same verve and vigour, this will be a series well worth collecting.