A Night in London - Aparté, 2021
“A recording high on atmosphere, with some genuine rarities. This could easily have been just another disc of 18th-century cello concertos and concerti grossi. Instead, by mixing genres and styles – concertos, cantatas, operatic arias, Scottish traditional tunes and English folk arrangements – the irrepressible Gaillard and her band create an evocative musical collage of the richness of London’s musical life in the mid-18th century.
A haunting solo cello version of Scottish cellist James Oswald’s She’s sweetest when she’s naked opens the programme, transporting us back in time to Handel’s London, where his operatic rival Nicola Porpora and the latter’s fellow cello virtuoso Giovanni Battista Cirri are represented by two sparkling cello concertos. Gaillard draws her expression from the bow in the elegant twists and turns of Cirri’s Largo, and the outer movements of Porpora’s G major Concerto are particularly exciting, with the rapid string-crossing given with a nice bite.
There is exuberant, percussive playing from the members of Pulcinella, with a sympathetic recording that brings out the depth of texture. Rough edges there may be, but there is energy aplenty as the musicians slam into the accents in Hasse’s Fugue, whipping up a veritable storm of semiquavers; and Geminiani’s English folk-song arrangements and Oswald’s Scottish songs take us into the taverns, with percussion adding to the convivial atmosphere.” - The Strad, avril 2022
“Elégance rythmique, lyrisme radieux et précision d’articulation jusque dans les traits les plus fougueux et les cadences les plus époustouflantes” 5 diapasons, Diapason 2022
“Deux pépites lyriques agrémentent le programme : Sandrine Piau emprunte à l’ALcina de Handel son “Credete al mio dolore” (avec violoncelle concertant) et Lucile Richardot chante avec sobriété et éloquence un Song Tune de Geminiani. Elle y énonce un véritable manifeste en faveur du Good taste in the Art of Musick, dont Ophélie Gaillard et ses brillants comparses de Pulcinella se font les convaincants apôtres.” - Denis Morrier