Carolyn Sampson (born 18 May 1974) is an English soprano in opera and concert. Specialising in historically informed performance, she has sung in

Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist and conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for wh ...

's recording project of

Bach cantatas This is a sortable list of Bach cantatas, the cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. His almost 200 extant cantatas are among his important vocal compositions. Many are known to be lost. Bach composed both church cantatas, most of them for ...

and has appeared at the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

Career

Born in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, she studied music at the

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. During her studies, she performed as a member of the choir

Ex Cathedra Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks '' ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the apos ...

, winning an Arnold Goldsbrough Prize for Baroque music. She made her operatic debut singing the part of Amore in Monteverdi's ''

L'incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' ( SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, and was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni ...

'' at the

. In 2006 she performed in Montpellier, both as Susanna in Mozart's ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' and as Adina in Donizetti's '' L'elisir d'amore''. Sampson sang the title role in the Boston Early Music Festival's production of

Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

's ''

Psyché Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

'' in June 2007. Jeremy Eichler of the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' wrote that she "gave a radiant and pure-voiced performance". The opera was subsequently recorded, and received a nomination for the

Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

in December 2008. Sampson has performed as a concert soloist in sacred oratorios such as Bach's '' St Matthew Passion'' with

The English Concert The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener ha ...

conducted by

Trevor Pinnock Trevor David Pinnock (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and direct ...

and Haydn's '' Schöpfung'' with the

London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History B ...

. In January 2010, she appeared at the

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The f ...

in Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'', conducted by Riccardo Chailly. She has also sung with the

NDR Radiophilharmonie The NDR Radiophilharmonie is a German radio orchestra, affiliated with the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony. The orchestra principally gives concerts in the ''Großer Sendesaal'' of the ''Landesfunkhaus Niedersa ...

, the

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has also ...

and the

Freiburger Barockorchester Freiburger Barockorchester (Freiburg Baroque Orchestra) is a German Baroque orchestra founded in 1987, with the mission statement: "to enliven the world of Baroque music with new sounds". History The orchestra is based in Freiburg im Breisgau. ...

Recording

In 2005, Sampson was the first to record all twelve stanzas of Bach's aria ''

Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127 "Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn" (Everything with God and nothing without him), BWV 1127, is Johann Sebastian Bach's October 1713 setting of a poem in 12 stanzas by , Superintendent of Buttstädt, a town in the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar. The p ...

'', discovered in 2005. She recorded it, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki, together with Bach's popular cantata for soprano and trumpet ''

Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51 Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata ("Exult in God in every land" or "Shout for joy to God in all lands") 51, in Leipzig. The work is Bach's only church cantata scored for a solo soprano and trumpet. He composed it for general use ...

''. In 2007, she recorded with Suzuki Bach's

Mass in B minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...

, with

Rachel Nicholls Rachel Nicholls is an English soprano in opera and concert. Career Born in Bedford, England, Nicholls studied French at the University of York, and from 1998 voice at the Royal College of Music with Kathleen Livingstone. In 2001, she won se ...

Robin Blaze Robin Blaze (born 1971 in Manchester) is an English countertenor. Early life The son of Peter Blaze, a professional golfer, and Christine, Blaze and his brother Mark grew up in Shadwell, near Leeds, and was educated at Leeds Grammar School, ...

Gerd Türk Gerd Türk is a German classical tenor. Biography Gerd Türk received his first musical training as a choir boy at the cathedral of Limburg. He studied in Frankfurt and then at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Richard Levitt and René Jaco ...

and

Peter Kooy Peter Kooij (or, internationally Kooy, born 1954, in Soest) is a Dutch bass singer who specializes in baroque music. Biography Kooij started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin stud ...

. A review noted: "The soloists are uniformly strong, and are major names in Bach performance. Carolyn Sampson leads the sopranos with a tone at once rich but still pure". In 2010, she was the soprano soloist in a recording of Bach's '' Weihnachts-Oratorium'' with the

Dresdner Kammerchor The Dresdner Kammerchor (Dresden Chamber Choir) is a mixed chamber choir which was founded in 1985 by Hans-Christoph Rademann in Dresden and is still conducted by him. The semiprofessional ensemble of about 40 singers has appeared internationally. ...

and the

Gewandhausorchester The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, with Wiebke Lehmkuhl (alto), Martin Lattke (tenor) as the

Evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

, Wolfram Lattke (tenor) and Konstantin Wolff (bass). Her recording ''A French Baroque Diva'', music written for the soprano Marie Fel and recorded with

conducted by

Jeffrey Skidmore Jeffrey Skidmore OBE (born 27 February 1951) is the conductor and artistic director of Ex Cathedra, a choir and early music ensemble based in Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. An active participant in musical education and a pionee ...

, won a Gramophone Award 2015 (Recital category). The review noted "the longer we listen to Sampson's voice, the more she seems to inhabit the aura of Fel, clearly a skilled and charismatic yet deeply affecting performer".

Selected recordings

Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Czech composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was rais ...

: ''Sacred Music'' Hyperion 2002 *

Jean Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera ...

: ''Règne Amour. Love songs from opera'' Hyperion 2003 * ''J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas Vol. 1'' (

BWV 210 The (BWV; ; ) is a Catalogues of classical compositions, catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version o ...

, BWV 211) BIS 2003 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 30'' (''

'', '' Alles mit Gott, nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127''), BIS 2005 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 34'' (

BWV 1 The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a ...

BWV 127 (Lord Jesus Christ, true Man and God), 127, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for use in a Lutheran service. He composed the chorale cantata in 1725 in Leipzig for the Sunday , the Sunday before Lent. It is based on Paul Eber's 1582 hymn in e ...

), BIS 2005 * Purcell: ''

The Fairy-Queen ''The Fairy-Queen'' (1692; Purcell catalogue number Z.629) is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. First performed ...

'' Arts Blue 2005 * Mozart: ''

Exsultate, jubilate ' (Exult, rejoice), K. 165, is a 1773 motet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. History This religious solo motet was composed when Mozart was staying in Milan during the production of his opera '' Lucio Silla'' which was being performed there in the ...

'' Hyperion 2005 *

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

: ''Duets from the Great English Oratorios'' BIS Records 2006 * Handel: '' Ode for St. Cecilia's Day'' Hyperion 2006 * Handel: ''Neun deutsche Arien'' Hyperion 2006 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 38'' ( BWV 52, BWV 58), BIS 2006 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 39'' (

BWV 28 (Praise God! Now the year comes to an end), BWV28, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for the Sunday after Christmas. He first performed it on 30 December 1725. History and text Bach composed the cantata in his third year as in Lei ...

BWV 68 (God so loved the world), 68, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the second day of Pentecost. Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig and first performed it on 21 May 1725. It is one of nine cantatas on texts by Christiana Ma ...

, BWV 85, BWV 183), BIS 2007 * Handel: ''

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

'' Harmonia Mundi 2007 * Purcell: ''Victorious Love'' BIS 2007 * ''Cantatas, Vol. 41''

BWV 84 The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a ...

, BIS 2008 *

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

: ''Psyché'' CPO 2008 * Handel: ''Parnasso in festa'' HWV 73 * Bach: '' Weihnachts-Oratorium'' (with Chailly),

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

2010 *

Thomas-Louis Bourgeois Thomas-Louis Bourgeois (Fontaine-l'Évêque, Hainaut, Belgium 24 October 1676 - Paris, January 1750 or 1751) was a Walloon composer and haute-contre. He was maître de chapelle at Toul Cathedral, then Strasbourg Cathedral before employment from 1707 ...

: Cantates, Carus 2012 * ''A French Baroque Diva'' Hyperion 2014 * ''Carolyn Sampson - Fleurs'' BIS 2015 * ''J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas Vol. 6'' (BWV 1083) BIS 2016 * ''A Verlaine Songbook'' BIS 2016 * Mozart: ''Great Mass in C minor'' BIS 2016 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas for Soprano Vol. 6'' (BWV 199, BMV 152, BMV 202) Harmonia Mundi 2017 * ''Lost is My Quiet - Duets and Solo Songs'' BIS 2017 * ''Carolyn Sampson - A Soprano’s Schubertiade'' BIS 2018 * ''The Contrast - English Poetry in Song'' BIS 2019

References

External links

Official website

Carolyn Sampson
Hyperion
Carolyn Sampson

Göttingen International Handel Festival The Göttingen International Handel Festival (German, ''Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen'') is a German festival of baroque music, based in Göttingen, Germany. The festival was established in 1919 by Oskar Hagen, art historian and f ...

Carolyn Sampson

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

Carolyn Sampson: Les Sirènes. Thomas-Louis Bourgeois - Cantates
arus-Verlag {{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Carolyn 1974 births Living people English operatic sopranos People from Bedford Alumni of the University of Birmingham 21st-century British women opera singers British performers of early music Women performers of early music