 This England received positive critical reception. David Patrick Stearns of Philadelphia Daily News awarded the album 3.5 out of 4 stars and, also referring to the success of Music for a Time of War, wrote that the repertoire has "perfectly wide appeal, especially in vital, muscular performances such as these". Stearns, who appreciated Kalmar's balance of technicality and the music's "exterior atmosphere", called the performances "thoughtful" and "incisive". He also noted the originality of the interludes and "Passacaglia" from Peter Grimes, claiming they "won 't be mistaken for anybody else's." In his review for The Huffington Post, Brian Horay wrote that the orchestra delivered "knockout" and "beefy-yet-restrained" performances of the Peter Grimes compositions. Referring to This England and its preceding album, which featured Sinfonia da Requiem, Horay said the recordings "showcase Kalmar and his band as supreme interpreters of Benjamin Britten's amazingly colorful brand of orchestral anxiety, inviting the listener to delve ever deeper into painful, yet rewarding, symphonic ambivalence." Classical CD Review's Robert Benson called the Elgar performance "brilliant" and appreciated that "Passacaglia" was programmed before "The Storm". Benson complimented Kalmar (calling him a "conductor to watch") as well as the sound of the recording, describing it as "well-balanced orchestral sound, with a wide dynamic range". He noted the lack of audience interference with the sound and assured audiophiles that they would appreciate the quality. Steven Ritter of Audiophile Audition wrote that the Symphony performed "with a brilliance and verve equal to any on record" and were "entirely attuned to the 'English' idiom". Ritter complimented Kalmar and the orchestra for the performances, saying "Who knew Oregon could sound like this? PentaTone should hold on to this bunch as long as they can, and explore as much repertory as they can handle. Great sound, performances, and production!"
