Songs of Light & Longing

The evening

Please note: this concert is a matinee performance, starting at 3pm.

Carolyn Sampson sopranoMaxim Emelyanychev pianoSCO String Quintet

This elegant chamber programme weaves together some of the most poetic and intimate works of French song and chamber music, brought vividly to life by soprano Carolyn Sampson, pianist Maxim Emelyanychev and a quintet of SCO players.

Poulenc’s La Courte Paille opens with its playful charm and tender reflections, before his Violin Sonata reveals a fiery, incisive voice shaped by wartime urgency. Chausson’s Chanson perpétuelle deepens the mood, its yearning lines suspended in rich instrumental colour. Poulenc’s Cello Sonata brings wit, warmth and expressive clarity, showcasing the composer at his most personal. Fauré’s radiant La Bonne Chanson closes the programme, glowing with lyrical delicacy and the unmistakable shimmer of French late Romantic song.