Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Schubert’s Four Seasons
Carolyn Sampson (soprano)
Joseph Middleton (piano)
Michael Collins (clarinet)
rec. 2024, Wyastone Concert Hall, Monmouth, UK
German texts & English translations included
BIS BIS2703 SACD [76]

This is the third Schubert recital that Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton have recorded for BIS. I have greatly enjoyed their previous two Schubert albums, A Soprano’s Schubertiade (review) and Elysium: A Schubert Recital (review); so, it was with keen anticipation that I approached this new SACD.

As the title implies, the programme is built around the four seasons of the year, from Winter through to Autumn; though not every song is explicitly seasonal all the choices fit the overarching theme very well. The very title of Der Winterabend shows that this song fits in with the Winter season. In fact, in the poem which Schubert set we find the poet contemplating “easeful death”, as Susan Youens puts it in her notes. She’s right to use the word easeful because that’s just how Schubert’s music comes across. In a most understanding performance, I was particularly taken with the delicacy both musicians display when Schubert reaches the line ‘Ist gar ein stiller, ein Lieber Besuch’ (It is a silent and beloved visitor). Both poem and music demonstrate the concept of contentment in death. The serenity with which Sampson and Middleton perform this song makes it a special experience.

Fruhlingsglaube is among the composer’s most celebrated songs. On the surface it’s a graceful, fresh song but Susan Youens peers below the surface, commenting that around this time metaphors of Spring were a call for political change. She draws attention to the fact that both stanzas of Ludwig Uhland’s poem end with the words ‘Nun muss sich Alles, Alles werden’, which Richard Wigmore translates as ‘Now all must change’. Is there a political, even subversive message in Schubert’s innocent-sounding song? Whether or not, the present performance is delightful and expressive.

After a beautifully poised account of Nachtviolen we hear Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, for which Michael Collins is a welcome guest artist. His playing gives great pleasure; at the start the sound of his clarinet is both silky and woody at the same time. His playing is a perfect foil to Carolyn Sampson’s singing. The melancholic middle section of the song – from ‘In tiefen Gram verzehr ich mich’ (I am consumed by deep sorrow) – is very expressively rendered; hereabouts the clarinet part is less prominent than elsewhere but Collins adds some poignant little touches. Both singer and clarinettist are joyful and athletic as they deliver the concluding stanza, rejoicing in the imminent arrival of Spring. We encounter another shepherd a little later in Schafers Klagelied: here, there’s no happy ending, though; the shepherd can’t shake off his sorrow by the end of the song.

I admired the disarming performance of Im Fruhling. Joseph Middleton does much to establish and maintain the air of dainty melancholy which pervades the song. Here, as in so many other parts of the recital, his pianistic touch adds a significant extra dimension. We also hear one of Schubert’s best-known songs, Die Forelle. Here, I think Ms Sampson interprets the song in an ideal fashion. In the first two stanzas her voice is full of eagerness but in the concluding stanza, where the trout meets its fate, she sounds full of indignation at the fisherman’s success.

Two different takes on a rose follow. In Heidenroslein, Schubert’s music is innocent, almost naïve, and the words trip lightly off Carolyn Sampson’s tongue. However, Susan Youens finds a darker meaning in Goethe’s poem, suggesting that the young man’s plucking of the rose is, in fact, a metaphor for rape. Die Rose is not so complex in its meaning; here we have a rose which flourished in the daytime sunshine but withers as evening chill descends. Carolyn Sampson sings the song beautifully, especially in the way she conveys the pathos of the flower’s fate in the last stanza.  Die Sommernacht sets a poem by Klopstock in rather an unusual fashion. Almost all of the setting is in recitative. Only in the last three lines of the poem does Schubert indulge in overt melody; by holding back in this way he ensures that we appreciate the lovely tune when it arrives.

With Herbst we move into Autumn, the last of the seasons in this survey. We know we’ve arrived at the season of gales and storms because the piano introduction immediately illustrates windy, turbulent weather. Susan Youens observes that in this song the musical materials are “minimal”. She’s right, but Schubert makes the limited material do a lot of work, and to excellent effect. An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht is a song which I didn’t know very well. It’s quite a long song (7:20 in this performance) and in many ways it’s rather remarkable. The music to which Schubert begins doesn’t really suggest anything consequential until, at the end of the second stanza the poet conjures up from nowhere an image of ‘ein schrecklicher Geier’ (a terrifying vulture). Schubert grasps the opportunity for vivid musical illustration and thereafter the song moves onto a different expressive plane with the composer responding strongly to the various images in the poem.  Joseph Middleton’s playing touches in lots of detail in a most illuminating fashion while Carolyn Sampson’s singing is full of expression. In the context of all this, Schubert’s return in the last stanza to the rather unremarkable music of the opening comes as something of a surprise but then he moves away from that mood and furnishes a pensive (and satisfying) ending which is entirely suitable to the last couplet.  

I was struck by something that Susan Youen says in relation to the penultimate song, Im Freien. She says that Schubert “writes a non-stop piano étude in right-hand octaves that must sound as light as a soap bubble, conjoined with consummate lyric melody [from the singer]”. Middleton and Sampson allow us to experience exactly what Ms Youens meant through their wonderful, engaging performance. They sign off with Rastlose Liebe. The words and music are impetuous, ardent and eager and Carolyn Sampson, aided and abetted by Joseph Middleton, performs the song in an ideal fashion. The song seems to be over and done in a flash – in 1:15, actually – and this infectious performance leaves the listener wanting more.

This is a delectable recital that covers a wide emotional range and which blends well-known and slightly less familiar examples of Schubert’s prowess as a Lieder composer. Some of the performances sparkle, others are melancholy or downright sorrowful; these performers find the way to the heart of each song. Carolyn Sampson once again proves herself to be a singer who is ideally suited to Schubert; she has an excellent sense of line, the tone is gleaming and her diction is crystal clear. Her engaging singing consistently draws the listener into each song. Joseph Middleton confirms his reputation as one of the finest recital partners currently before the public; he offers many perceptive touches and always supports his singer.

They have been beautifully recorded by Jens Braun; I don’t think I need to say more than that. Susan Youens’ notes are succinct but give an excellent, pithy summary of each song.

If you enjoy Lieder recitals you should hear this outstanding Schubert recital.

John Quinn

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Contents
Sehnsucht, D879 (1826)
Der Winterabend, D938 (1828)
Lied (Die Mutter Erde), D788 (1823)
Fruhlingsglaube, op.20 no.2 D686 (1820)
Nachtviolen, D752 (1822)
Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D965 (1828)
Die Mainacht, D194 (1815)
Mein Gruß an den Mai, D305 (1815)
Im Fruhling, D882 (1826)
Schafers Klagelied, op.3 no.1 D121 (1814)
Die Forelle, op.32 D550 (1817?)
Heidenroslein, op.3 no.3 D257 (1815)
Die Rose, D745 (1820?)
Die Sommernacht, D289 (11815)
Herbst, D945 (1828)
An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht, D614 (1818)
Erntelied, D434 (1816)
Herbstlied, D502 (1816)
Im Freien, D880 (1826)
Rastlose Liebe, D138 (1815)