Editor’s Choice
Gramophone, December 2007

‘Victorious Love’ - Songs by Henry Purcell BIS SACD-1536

Carolyn Sampson, soprano
Laurence Cummings, harpsichord & spinet
Elizabeth Kenny, theorbo
Anne-Marie Lasla, bass viol
Sara Sexton & Andrea Morris, violins Jane Rogers, viola

Recorded at St Paul’s Church, New Southgate, London, January 2006,
Producer & Engineer: Jens Braun
UK Release: October 6, 2007.

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Victorious Love

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Scherzo, May 2008

Gramophone, December 2007

Gramophone, December 2007

Financial Times, 6 October 2007.

Purcell: Victorious Love

A mouthwatering partnership in music of tenderness and theatricality

“Fairest isle” (King Arthur) and “Thrice Happy Lovers” (The Fairy Queen) need little introduction but many of the other songs in this recital deserve to be better known. Sampson has all the skills they demand - beauty of timbre, clarion purity and an imaginative way with the music’s trills and rhythmic inflections. The accompaniments - on harpsichord (Laurence Cummings), theorbo, archlute and bass viol - radiate style. (Andrew Clark)

Tokafi.com, 3 October 2007.

CD Feature/ Carolyn Sampson: “Henry Purcell - Victorious Love”

Living art instead of historical documents: A deep and detailed look into the text.

“I love Purcell, I'm a real fan”, Carolyn Sampson told Dutch Magazine “Klassieke Zaken” (Classical Affairs) for their recent title story on the Bedford-born London Soprano, “But I feel that singers are often too careful with his songs, they’re presenting them too innocently.” Her relationship with Purcell, then, is not one of glace kid gloves nor of an unhealthy dose of reverence, which rules out all creativity and freedom on her part. Rather, it is one of true admiration for his art and of a deep sense of mission to present his songs in an inspired and emphatic light. Her new album has therefore not turned out a stern and sterile old music release, but a powerful contemporary rollercoster ride through some of Purcell’s most remarkable moments.

The strangest thing is that so few have tried to go down a similar road before. Approaching Purcell playfully, after all, does not necessarily mean taking all too many risks. Instead, the music actually seems to beg for it. “Be she well or ill array’d, Queen, slut, or harridan/ Yet man is for the woman made/ And the woman for the man”, Sampson exclaims in “Man is for the Woman made” and both the piece’s topic and the way she pleasurably clicks her tongue to the word “slut” demonstrate the worldly and sensual appeal these tracks can have when interpreting them from a different, more daring angle. There are many more examples for this kind of deep and detailed look into the text on “Victorious Love”, as well as for taking all the necessary decisions as a logical consequence.

When Sampson pronounces the word “cool”, there really seems to be a frosty wind blowing through the air and when she sings “Wond’ring how your pains were eas’d and disdaining to be please’d/Till Alecto free the dead from their eternal bands” the words suddenly start making sense, regardless of whether the listener is aware of the mythological backgrounds or not. On other occasions, though, Carolyn Sampson chooses to let the melodic lines flow and to emphasise the music, rather than the lyrics. It is not eccentricity she is after, but a well-founded, yet emotional sense of what is important in the situation at hand - and what isn't.

Despite the obvious center-stage position she holds on “Victorious Love”, however, the ensemble supporting her has taken some equally personal and noteworthy decisions. It is even Elizabeth Kenny, who signs responsible for the lute and theorbo (a special, long-necked version of the former) parts, rather than Sampson who expounds and explains the alterations or additions in instrumentation or arrangement in the liner notes of the booklet: The replacement of violins with recorders on “The Bashful Thames” (more voluptous and dramatic) or the restoration of the original sections for the entire group in “If Love’s a Sweet Passion” (more opulent and emotive), for example. And she also puts these changes in contxt with Purcell’s wish for a “Gebrauchsmusik”, which could be altered to please different performers. As a result, the disc has turned out eclectic and colourful, with changing settings for each piece.

It is true that the catchiness and inventive nature of some of these compositions would survive even if I decided to sing them (which, believe me, you wouldn’t want to hear). But that is not the point. Carolyn Sampson designed the album as a work which demonstrates what an incredible potential still lingers in the Purcell’s songs, if they are treated as living art instead of historical documents. “My approach may be slightly less reverential than that of others.”, she admitted in the abovementioned interview, “But I’d say the songs can take it”. This release, a victorious statement of her love for the composer indeed, proves she is right with that assertion. (Tobias Fischer)

SA-CD.net, 29 September 2007

Henry Purcell (who pronounced his surname with emphasis on its first syllable) shared a gift with Shakespeare of being able to imbue his dramatic personae with real human emotions. This new recital of his songs from BIS is compiled both from Purcell’s stage works (such as King Arthur, The Fairy Queen and The Indian Queen) and collections of miscellaneous works which were published after his tragically early death at the age of 36. In the BIS programme are several timeless favourites such as Music for a While, Fairest Isle, O Solitude and An Evening Hymn. There are also miniature dramatic scenas such as When First Armintas Sued for a Kiss and The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation, the latter a stunning evocation of Mary’'s thoughts and state of mind at witnessing the crucifixion of her son. The collection depicts the influence of Love, in all its guises; anguished, romantic, spiritual, ecstatic and sexual. Is Love victorious? Make up your own mind.

Carolyn Sampson, well-known for her frequent solo appearances in BIS’ Bach Cantata series, is an ideal choice for these gems of English song. The poetry and playwriting at Purcell’s time in the second half of the C17th was emotionally over-heated and rich with allegory and references to Graeco-Roman mythology. These would of course have been well-understood by contemporary audiences, but to us now they may seem cumbersome, florid and stilted. But add Purcell’s music to this prose, and the humanity of these songs is apparent to all.

Singers of these songs need to be consummate actors, and this Carolyn Sampson certainly is. Her voice has remarkable purity and flexibilty, and she provides ornamentations of Italian and French origin which sound so natural, enhancing the fluidity of her vocal lines. But I most admired her range of characterisations, which really bring these songs to life. In the first song, Sweeter Than Roses, she begins in a half’voice, stunned by a kiss, in a young girl's puzzled anguish at the overwhelming experience. Surprised, she next bursts into a laughing voice as a bolt of pure joy strikes her. This is wonderful portrayal and understanding, the Art which conceals Art. In other songs, she suggestively nudges and winks at us with bawdy intent (When First Arminta...), calmly and with noble tone extols the virtues of England as a place where Love flourishes (Fairest Isle) and finally bids us gently towards wholesome sleep with The Evening Hymn. So many vocal colours, supported by the rich acoustic of a London church, which she exploits with great skill for the projection of her voice and characters.

This solo voice is supported with a highly experienced group of period-style instrumentalists, playing various combinations of bass viol, violins, viola, archlute and theorbo, harpsichord and spinet. Several of the songs have extended instrumental introductions, which beautifully set their environment. I have particular praise for Anne-Maria Lasla on the bass viol for the gravitas and eloquence of her playing, especially in the ground bass tunes which are a crucial element of many of Purcell’s songs. Singer and instrumentalists together create an ensemble seemingly of one mind.

There is little to say about the 5.0 recording except that it is typical of BIS; immediate and detailed yet airy. The stereo mix captures much of the atmosphere of the church as well.

Carolyn Sampson’s account of these wonderful songs joins those by Barbara Bonney, Nancy Argenta and Emma Kirkby in their artistry, and should not be missed. (Geohominid)