Press review
CD: The Legend of Josquin Desprez
"If this recording is so captivating, it is thanks to the exemplary cohesion, the perfect accuracy, and above all the inspired musicality of La Sestina, which is decidedly establishing itself as one of the best Renaissance music ensembles of the moment."
Antoine Pecqueur, Revue musicale de Suisse romande , September 2014
Concert: Cristóbal de Morales
Motets, Lessons for the Office of the Dead, Requiem for 5 voices
“A great musical moment worthy of Cristóbal de Morales”
It is worth noting here the fullness brought to these pages by the soloists [of Ensemble La Sestina]. Then the atmosphere of the performance […] transformed into a celebration under the fervor of the performers. […] La Sestina displayed not only the sureness of its style, intelligence and sensitivity, but also the discipline reigning within its ranks.
Denise de Ceuninck, L’Express/L’Impartial, November 4, 2013
CD: Francisco Guerrero — The Angel's Voice
“Reinheit, Klarheit und Wohlklang sind gefragt, Sauberkeit der Intonation sowieso. Dafür braucht man handverlesene Sänger, und Adriano Giardina hat ebensolche in seinem Ensemble La Sestina [...] Alles klingtt homogen, alles mischt sich und fließt fast ineinander, dennoch treten die Konturen klar hervor – eine großartige Interpretationsleistung. »
Michael Wersin, Rondo , March 26, 2011
“La Sestina's throatier, plangent timbres, edgy phrasing and soloistic approach are all the most to the point in a selection of seven sacred madrigals published in 1589. O Virgen, quand'os miro is a highlight, in which La Sestina's tangibly articulated, teasing relish of its tripping rhythms and vernacular style takes us a world away from the impersonal grandeur of the better-known Battle Mass and its (mostly English) recordings. »
Peter Quantrill, Gramophone , July 2011
CD: Tomás Luis de Victoria — Motecta 1572
"The voices of the fifteen singers have a great deal of individual personality, the timbres are beautiful, the harmony is all about flexibility, without losing any of the definition of the lines. [...] The simplest prayer becomes hypnotic, imbued with a profound joy."
Michèle Fizaine, Midi Libre, March 12, 2007
“La Sestina is a group new to me, but on the evidence of Victoria: Motecta 1572, it has a bright future ahead. The recording contains 14 motets from the 1572 book, in performances of singular warmth but also of great clarity, and, that rare thing, a genuine internal balance so that all the voices are equal. La Sestina's young conductor, Adriano Giardina […] also knows exactly how to shape the music, without exaggeration but always with a sense of emotional involvement; I very much hope that this disc is the precursor of others. »
Yvan Moody, Early Music, 36/1, 2008
CD: The Album of Margaret of Austria
“No other project offers such a complete picture of this fascinating ‘anthology of princely melancholy’ as La Sestina. [...] the selection put together by Adriano Giardina is of paramount importance and allows his vocal ensemble, with its rich and full sound, to demonstrate its fine abilities. La Sestina is now a force to be reckoned with.”
David Fiala, Diapason, July-August 2005
Concert: Roland de Lassus
Penitential Psalms, Missa pro defunctis for 5 voices
"A delight for the soul."
Like a vast, majestic river, the musical flow cascades in tiny waterfalls, contained and guided by the nimble fingers of the choirmaster who works the voices as he would the keys of his harpsichord. […] Adriano Giardina and his talented musicians […], by breathing new life into this demanding repertoire, awaken in us a taste for transcendence and the sacred.
Le Journal du Nord-Vaudois, March 30, 2001