GRAMOPHONE:
I’m not generally a fan of recital CDs devoted to a single character or mood, but this album certainly makes a success of the genre. Familiar pieces alternate with interesting rarities, and the programme has several focuses of attention – the varied collection of Frank Bridge pieces, the contrast between Edwardian Morceaux de salon and items connected with Paris in the 1920s the alternation of song arrangements with instrumental pieces in song style, and the culmination in a true song with obbligato violin (Strauss, featuring a radiant-sounding Elizabeth Watts).

Madeleine Mitchell’s playing is most appealing. Her tone is sweet and bright, and she and Andrew Ball are unfailingly sensitive to the nuances and character of each piece. I find the performances of the later music must convincing: the Prokofiev, Boulanger and Copland, for instance, where a measure of coolness and objectivity is an advantage. In the earlier pieces I sometimes found Mitchell rather too reserved and distant – the great violinists of 100 years ago wouldn’t have hesitated to push forward at moments of passion, or to treat each piece as an opportunity to engage personally with their audience. The recorded sound is excellent, but the violin might have benefited from a more intimate presence.

Admirers of Frank Bridge will note his distinctive voice even in the more conventional pieces, and will be especially interested in the Morceau Caracteristique, premiered by May Harrison in about 1908 but only recently rediscovered. It’s a substantial movement, bold and virtuoso, and well worth resurrecting.
Duncan Druce

THE STRAD:
The innumerable miniatures and short salon pieces written for the violin don't get much of an outing nowadays, aside from the occasional encore. Madeleine Mitchell has put together 23 of them, mostly, as the title suggests, of the melodic rather than virtuosic variety. Some, such as Elgar's Salut d'Amour and his chansons of night and morning, Massenet's Meditation from Thais and Prokofiev's Cinq Melodies are well known. But most are rarities and it is delightful to have them here, especially when played with such warmth and finesse.

There are nocturnes by Copland and Lili Boulanger and six delightful pieces by Bridge, one of them newly unearthed.

This is a project requiring not just great melodic skills but also the ability to catch subtleties  of character if it is not to blur into an hour and a quarter of sounding pretty. Mitchell's playing is exceptional throughout. Each short performance here has a personality of its own: the witfulness of Copland, played with veiled breathy tone, the gentle humour in the fourth of Prokofiev's Melodies, the easy charm of the Elgar pieces, the cool lyricism of Ravel's Berceuse sur le nom de Faure. There are some real songs here, arranged by Mitchell and others, including Berg's early Die Nachtigall and we finally get the real thing when Elizabeth Watts joins Mitchell for Strauss's Morgen.

This is a CD full of small joys, wonderfully played. The sound is close and warm.
Tim Homfray

CLASSICALNET:
I have had the honour to meet Madeleine Mitchell on the wonderful occasions when she chose to visit Malta and was more than thrilled by her wonderful performances. So when this disc popped up in the post for review, I was indeed more than happy to take on the challenge as most of the works were rather new to me. Listening to this CD is a delight from start to finish. The title is more than apt as throughout each carefully prepared piece, Mitchell's violin truly sings and creates that calming and soothing effect which makes one forget all worldly troubles.

There are quite a number of pieces by Frank Bridge which were interesting discoveries for me apart from the familiar curtain calls by Elgar and a wonderful transcription of Schubert's Ave Maria, all played with utmost care and affection by this splendid violinist.  Copland, Ravel, Berg and Prokofiev also make an appearance demonstrating Mitchell's fondness for modern music and this is well documented in the lovely booklet which is almost worth the price of the CD alone. Mitchell herself wrote the notes which make fascinating reading. Truly a CD to cherish and treasure, keep it for a cold evening tucked away by the fireplace and just let it sink in. Utterly magical!
Gerald Fenech

INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW:
“Violin Songs – melodies for violin with piano”, amounting to 23 individual tracks on one CD, might at first sight appear to be another of those interminable collections of “encore” pieces that litter the gramophone catalogues and record shops browser racks, without seeming to possess much in the way of unusual musical merit, other than feeding the vanity of the violinist in question. In this case, and despite rather unusual packaging which highlights Madeleine Mitchell to a degree (four photographs of here, three in full colour, and a complete listing of every other CD on which she appears – all on rival labels), one could be wrong. Here there are, undoubtedly, 23 individual tracks, but these include no fewer than seven separate works by Frank Bridge, amounting to over 24 minutes of music by the one composer (including the world premiere recording if his Morceau Caracteristique, alongside other rather salonesque pieces of his),together with Prokofiev’s Cinq Melodies, Op. 35b, three pieces by Elgar and a group of other items connected in some way with Paris in the 1920s – quite a mixture. In purely musical terms, therefore, this CD is not quite what it might appear to be at first, so merits consideration on several levels.

Elgar’s Salut d’Amour opens the disc, and if initially one might wish for a fuller tone from Mitchell, her genuine sense of inner repose makes a touching impression. Indeed, throughout this CD, her sensitive musicianship comes as a welcome antidote to the thrusting lusciousness of other violinists. In this, of course, she is constrained by the repertoire she has chosen, but one should remember the title of the disc – “songs” , not “fireworks”. As the programme unfolds, the impression thus conveyed is notably even-tempered, occasionally nonchalant but never superficial. Not that Mitchell lacks authority when called for – as in the third of Prokofiev’s Melodies, or Bridge’s Moto Perpetuo – but it is not often called for here. She has the inestimable advantage of Andrew Ball as her partner; this fine British pianist is an admirable accompanist, and in Richard Strauss’ song “Morgen” both Mitchell and Ball accompany soprano Elizabeth Watts in giving a notably successful performance to end the disc.

It is unnecessary to comment upon every track here, but I should mention Mitchell’s transcription of Alban Berg’s song Die Nachtigall, which works extremely effectively in this version – her phrasing is quite outstanding. The recording quality throughout is good. Mitchell contributes her own booklet notes. Recommended.
Robert Matthew-Walker

MIDWEST RECORD:
Do you have adult ears a little tired of new age but too intimidated by the classics to made the jump?  Have we got a violin player for you!  If you aren't familiar with Mitchell, do a search and believe the blurbs, believe the recommendations.  Mitchell is one of the best things to happen to violin, classical or otherwise.  With a tremendous touch and wonderful style, this is gentle, caressing music that will blow you away.  Covering some lightly familiar classics and taking you into some rare performances, Mitchell and her accompanists play so seamlessly and gracefully that you can't “hear” the playing as it comes across as so natural.  Simply a great recording.  Check it out.
Chris Spector

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE:
Here’s a beguiling programme of song transcriptions, salon pieces and bonbons ranging from Massenet’s ‘Meditation’ and Elgar favourites to lesser-known works by Bridge. There are also surprising delights, such as Madeleine Mitchell’s arrangements of Berg’s ‘Die Nachtigall’ and Poulenc’s ‘Violin’. She clearly relishes giving her wonderful lyrical tone full rein, captured in fine sound, while Andrew Ball is a perfectly discreet accompanist. Nonetheless, like many singers (and fellow violinists),Mitchell would benefit from a more flexible approach to vibrato.

NEW CLASSICS:
Madeleine Mitchell has been described by the Glasgow Herald as ‘a violinist in a million’ and is one of the most celebrated and accomplished violinists in the UK. She has performed in over 40 countries as a soloist in a wide repertoire in major venues and frequently broadcasts for television and radio, including the BBC Proms. As well as being an acclaimed violinist, Madeleine Mitchell is also the mastermind behind ‘Red Violin’ - a festival celebrating the violin running in Cardiff from 1-9 October 2007 (it was first organised in 1997 under the patronage of Lord Menuhin).

Accompanied by her regular pianist partner Andrew Ball on this new CD, Madeleine Mitchell presents a selection of personal favourite music for violin and piano - classic songs, salon pieces and music from 1920s Paris. The works are by Elgar (Salut d’Amour, Chanson de Matin and Chanson de Nuit), Berg (Die Nachtigall), Bridge (Mélodie, Amaryllis, Romanze, Spring Song, Moto Perpetuo, Berceuse and a world première recording of Morceau Caracteristique), Copland (Nocturne), Prokofiev (Cinq Mélodies), Massenet (Méditation from Thaïs) , Boulanger (Nocturne), Poulenc (Violon), Ravel (Berceuse sur le nom de Fauré), Schubert (Ave Maria, arr. Palaschko) and Strauss (Morgen). The score for Frank Bridge’s lyrical Morceau Caracteristique, thought to have been lost, has only recently been rediscovered, so this is the piece’s first performance for over 100 years. This is an album of charming music, brought to shimmering life by Madeleine Mitchell’s spirited yet sensitive virtuosity.
Un-named reviewer

CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE:
If you like you violin miniatures con espressivo with lashings of vibrato and tasteful portamento then this is the disc for you. Madeleine Mitchell’s heart-on-sleeve approach works especially well in three Elgar favourites – Salut d’Amour, Chanson de Nuit and Chanson de Matin – and she refines her sound magically for Lili Boulanger’s Nocturne and Ravel’s enchanting Berceuse sur le nom de Fauré. There are moving transcriptions of songs by Berg, Schubert and Strauss, especially the latter’s ravishing Morgen in which Mitchell is joined by soprano Elizabeth Watts, yet most valuable are seven miniatures by Frank Bridge, highlighted by the first ever recording of the Morceau Caracteristique.
Julian Haylock

MUSICAL POINTERS:
This is the sort of ‘easy listening’ compilation which doesn’t often get reported in these pages and is a mix of Mitchell’s personal favourites featuring classic songs, salon pieces and music from the Paris of the 1920s.    Some are in the form in which they were written, so are arrangements by the composer or others, and some adaptations from voice to piano by Mitchell herself. 

First and foremost Mitchell is a performer who delights in taking her “red violins” to schools and other non-specialist audiences, and these are just the sort of tunes that could be relied on to captivate them.  But there is clearly also a serious musician operating beneath the show-womanship, and there are some unexpected rarities in the mix.

Of particular interest are Prokofiev’s cycle of songs without words, in his own elegant and urbane arrangement for violin and piano.   Poulenc’s song Violon may have seemed an obvious choice for transcription, but capturing the gentle humour of Louise de Vilmorin’s idiosyncratic poem in a wordless form is quite some challenge and it comes off stylishly. 

Throughout Andrew Ball provides excellent support and on the final track they are joined by soprano Elizabeth Watts for Strauss’s meltingly beautiful Morgen.
Serena Fenwick

MID-SUSSEX CITIZEN:
This new Divine Art offering from Madeleine Mitchell features melodiesfor violin with piano drawn from classic songs, salon pieces and music from Paris in the twenties. The violinist applies her highly lyrical technique to much loved works from the pens of Elgar, Massenet and Frank Bridge amongst others, and succeed admirably in recreating the atmosphere of this bygone era.
Kevin Bryan

THE TIMES:
Madeleine Mitchell has promoted much contemporary music, but now her violin turns wistful and melodic, wrapped in early 20th-century reveries. The seven charming Frank Bridge selections show her at her best. Andrew Ball’s piano accompaniments lean toward the stolid – unhelpful in salon pieces needing finesse. A curate’s egg CD, tastiest in Bridge’s long-lost Morceau caractéristique, faintly Russian in hue. ×××
Geoff Brown