Critical Reception
The Washington Post, reviewing Songs for Hannah, noted "Joy and glee, of course, can be subjective. The Hannah texts are pretty severe: There's a lot of 'the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness' and 'they that strive with the Lord shall be broken in pieces.' But (Dienes-Williams's) music was luminous, with insistent rhythms and an almost ancient, incantatory feel."
John W. Lambert, reviewing the Guildford Cathedral Choir's visit to Raleigh, NC during its US East Coast tour, observed that Dienes-Williams "has a huge and altogether favorable reputation among church musicians." He went on to say that the reputation was "richly deserved"; she was a "highly animated director, and she elicited some of the most remarkable “church choir” singing heard hereabouts in a long time." A Haydn motet "left many members of the audience awe-struck."
Read more about this topic: Katherine Dienes
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