SACROPROFANO - "A virtuoso performance"

Following last month’s release of SACROPROFANO with Arcangelo on Alpha Classics, Tim’s first solo album has enjoyed many glowing reviews. The combination of Vivaldi’s sacred and secular output for the alto voice has been praised for its virtuosity as well as its sensitivity.

“Mead communicates real passion… a virtuoso performance from this gifted singer”
Gramophone

"Tim Mead shows a remarkable unity of registers at the same time as restraint, elegance, gentleness… In the Nisi Dominus RV 608, the long notes held without vibrato…offer a model of refinement…The inventiveness of the embellishments, the agility and the irreproachable style of the da capo of the cantata Cessate, omai cessate are just as attractive."
Diapason

“the blend of Vivaldi’s sacred and secular pieces is a fabulous choice for his characteristic lightening switches between dramatic delivery and sublime long lines… it’s beautifully paced and the depths of textures and atmospheres sweeps you away”
BBC Radio 3 Record Review Extra

“[Nisi Dominus] receives here one of its finest performances on disc… dazzling vocal coloratura, delivered by Mead with seeming effortlessness… he’s clearly a countertenor to rank with the best, possessed of not just a fine vocal instrument but also deep musical intelligence… this is a Vivaldi disc of quite remarkable interest.”
Europadisc

“it's an unqualified pleasure to hear the British countertenor in a full-length solo programme: the voice is strong, even and richly coloured throughout its wide range, lithe and athletic in the florid 'Nell'orrido albergo' from Cessate, omai cessate and the opening of the Nisi Dominus”
Presto Music

“Mead, a clairvoyant musician of great prestige, revives with exquisite sensitivity the music of the Venetian composer with industrious coloraturas and deploys all his talent in the interpretation of works of undoubted value.”
Sonograma

"...you couldn't set this psalm verse to music more beautifully than Vivaldi; and I don't think it can be sung more beautifully than by Tim Mead: with a clear and at the same time warm voice, clever and well-dosed vibrato, sensitively phrased and full of tension.”
SWR2

“In this program he not only convinces, but inspires. With his warm, soft melodious timbre, he gives the slow cantilenas especially an enchanting expression… one always has the impression that he sings very forcefully, with good articulation, always very attentive to the sung word…”
Pizzicato

“We admire the way in which he passes from unvibrated, absolutely horizontal vocals to a subtle vibrato, and his way of rising to suspended notes on "fructus ventris", not only impeccable and delicate until the final pianissimo, but translating the depth of meaning of this verse… There is despair in this supplication to the Virgin [Salve Regina], to which Tim Mead lends the very rich colors of his falsetto, notably a fleshy and solid low register… In the aria "Nell'orrido albergo" which concludes the cantata [Cessate, omai cessate] in a tempestuous tempo, Tim Mead can deliver a demonstration of virtuosity, multiplying the jumps of notes, the acrobatic coloratura, in perfect fusion with the Arcangelo ensemble, electric and precise…The final aria, of pure virtuosity, testifies to the inexhaustible courage of Tim Mead, but also to his attention to varying colors.”
Forum Opera

“there’s no uncertainty about Tim Mead’s remarkable voice, Vivaldi’s vocal exhibitionism dispatched with élan, virtuosic passages no barrier to Mead’s copper-bottomed technique.  He combines a mellifluous tone, incisive diction and an unswerving control that can dazzle the ear in the most athletic runs.”
Opera Today

“The result is superb… In the Nisi Dominus, the young countertenor (he was born in 1981) puts forward a superb song, characterized by great fluidity (the modulations on the "qui custodit" in the first aria, accompanied by the magnificent playing of the strings), an impressive length of breath (listen to the word "doloris" concluding the third aria) and an ideal harmony with the orchestra (the duet with the solo violin in the "Gloria Patri”)."
ConcertoNet

“Countertenor Tim Mead masters the varied demands of the recorded pieces with amazing mastery. His countertenor is well performed in all registers and convinces with a fresh, easy coolness, crystal-clear sound and a beguiling calm and serenity… A heavyweight addition to the Vivaldi discography.”
Online Merker

“His dulcet and yet compelling voice, bolstered by the period authenticity and lean sonics of the Arcangelo ensemble, leads the music forward at all times. Operatic in one instance, reverential in another, he captures and projects perfectly the composer's intent.”
Classical Music Sentinel