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"Disc of the Month ... Hannigan and de Leeuw perfectly capture the elusive, emotionally detached nature of Socrate ..." - BBC Music Magazine "Editor's Choice ... throughout their album, Barbara Hannigan and Reinbert de Leeuw maintain a very noticeable consistency of mood, atmosphere and colour." - Gramophone "Four Stars ... Barbara Hannigan sings the songs of Erik Satie as if she’s sitting next to you, whispering and cooing across the kitchen table with sufficient breathiness, soft edges and exquisite spaciousness to match Reinbert de Leeuw’s sweet-melancholy piano chords ... Hannigan makes intimate confessionals of the plain text and archly non-eventful melodies and clinches the art of enigmatic understatement." - The Guardian "Recording of the Month ... in this, Erik Satie’s anniversary year, a number of recordings have been released. If you plan to buy just one, then I suggest you make it this one ... the beauty of the music making on this recording also deserves your attention ... Barbara Hannigan proves to be one of the finest interpreters of this music ... Reinbert de Leeuw proves that you do not need the chamber orchestra in Socrate ... recorded sound is excellent and well balanced, helping the listener to get the most from this music." - MusicWeb International Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan and Dutch pianist Reinbert de Leeuw celebrate Erik Satie’s 150th birthday with this programme centred around the song cycle Socrate. Unfortunately and unfairly, Satie’s compositions for vocals are not as known as his instrumental works and only a few recordings of such pieces exist. These two exceptional artists offer a wonderful opportunity to discover Satie’s world of songs through fresh, exciting and highly acclaimed interpretations.