Joseph Middleton | Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

Gramophone Magazine
June 2023
Editor's Choice

Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Joseph Middleton (piano)

Schubert: Schwestergruss, D762 (Bruchmann)
Schubert: Ganymed, D544 (Goethe)
Schubert: An den Mond, D193
Schubert: Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D774
Schubert: Die junge Nonne, D828
Schubert: Gott im Fruhling D448 (Uz)
Schubert: Nacht und Träume, D827
Schubert: Die Sterne, D939 (Leitner)
Schubert: An den Mond, D259 (Goethe)
Schubert: Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen, D343
Schubert: An die Nachtigall, D497
Schubert: Der Musensohn, D764 (Goethe)
Schubert: Der liebliche Stern, D861 (Schulze)
Schubert: Wiegenlied D867 (Seidl)
Schubert: Du bist die Ruh D776 (Rückert)
Schubert: Elysium D584 (Schiller)
Schubert: Abschied von der Erde, D829

The last years of Schubert’s life were clouded by illness, so thoughts of the afterlife cannot have been far from his mind. For their latest recital for BIS, Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton present an all-Schubert recital themed around Elysium, the mythical idea of a blessed and happy eternal future, with texts that explore different states of the afterlife by well-known authors such as Goethe, Rückert and Schiller as well as by lesser-known ones. Opening with a hymn to the divine in nature, this recital in turn evokes distant realms, blissful eternity and dream-filled sleep, before concluding with a farewell to the earth; from the passion and doubt of Die junge Nonne (The Young Nun) to the beautiful and touching Du bist die Ruh (You are peace). Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton have released several acclaimed discs for BIS, including Album für die Frau, a collection of songs by Clara and Robert Schumann and A Soprano’s Schubertiade, a Schubert anthology, named ‘Recording of the Month’ by MusicWeb International and ‘CD-Tipp’ by BR Klassik.

"Authority and intelligence are evident in song choices, sequencing and performance in this somewhat soft-spoken disc that’s surely among their best." - Gramophone Magazine, June 2023.