Carolyn Sampson, Arcangelo to Perform at Carnegie Hall, Fall 2013

Hailed by critics as one of the world's leading Baroque soloists, soprano Carolyn Sampson performs a program of Purcell's songs and arias in Weill Recital Hall on Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. Ms. Sampson is joined by period instrumentalists Beiliang Zhu, viola da Gamba, Paul O'Dette, lute, and Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord, during her New York recital debut.

On Monday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m., period-music ensemble Arcangelo performs their first U.S. concert in Zankel Hall, led by Artistic Director JoNathan Cohen, and featuring violinist Alina Ibragimova in J.S. Bach's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A Minor, BMV 1041. Also included on the program is Handel's rarely performed mythical cantata Apollo e Dafne, featuring soprano Katherine Watson and baritone Nikolay Borchev.

For her recital, Ms. Sampson will perform a program of arias from Purcell's lauded 1692 semi-operaThe Fairy Queen, and his final, unfinished work, The Indian Queen, in addition to well-known songs, such as "Music for a While" and "If Music be the Food of Love." Ms. Sampson is one of the most sought-after early-music interpreters; her 2007 recording of Purcell songs and arias, Victorious Love, was selected as Editor's Choice and listed as one of the top ten Purcell recordings by Gramophonemagazine. Equally comfortable on the opera and concert stages, Ms. Sampson has performed roles with the English National Opera, Opéra de Paris, and Glyndebourne Festival Opera, among others. Her concert engagements have included appearances at the BBC Proms, as well as numerous collaborations with ensembles such as Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bayerische Rundfunk, and Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. In the U.S., Ms. Sampson has been featured soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She is a regular guest at the Mostly Mozart Festival, where she recently performed works by Haydn and Mozart with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra conducted by Louis Langrée. See below for complete concert details.

The following month, JoNathan Cohen, associate conductor of early-music ensemble Les Arts Florissants, leads his New Group, the technically dazzling period-ensemble Arcangelo through works by J.C. Bach and J.S. Bach, featuring violin soloist Alina Ibragimova on the latter's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A Minor, BWV 1041. Notably, the ensemble will also perform Handel's secular cantata, Apolle e Daphne, a lascivious tale of unrequited love, featuring soloists Katherine Watson and Nikolay Borchev. Considered one of the composer's most ambitious early works, the piece depicts the unwelcome perusal of shape-shifting nymph Dafne, by the Olympian god, Apollo. Formed in 2010, the young ensemble, whose members are dedicated to faithful interpretation that goes far beyond historical understanding, has already released several critically acclaimed albums. In 2011, their debut CD, Porpora Cantatas (Hyperion Records), met with critical acclaim, as did their second Hyperion album, Arias for Guadagni (2012), which featured British counter tenor Iestyn Davies. The release received a Gramophone Award in 2012 and led to nomination for a prestigious Sky Arts South Bank Award in 2013. Last year, Arcangelo released Amoretti, a collection of works by Mozart, Gluck, and Grétry, featuring German soprano Christine Karg, and most recently, they released Finest Arias for Base Voice with Christopher Purves (Hyperion), which was selected by BBC Radio 3 as one of the year's outstanding recordings.

Opened in September 2003, Zankel Hall-Carnegie Hall's modern, underground performance space-celebrates its tenth anniversary this season with concerts that reflect the wide variety of music for which the venue has become known, including appearances by up-and-coming and established artists in the classical, jazz, world music, and pop genres.

Program Information:

Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Weill Recital Hall
CAROLYN SAMPSON, Soprano
New York Recital Debut
Beiliang Zhu, Viola da Gamba
Paul O'Dette, Lute
Kenneth Weiss, Harpsichord

ALL-PURCELL PROGRAM:
"Thou wakeful shepherd" (A morning hymn)
"Music for a while"
"Sweeter than roses" from Pausanias
"Thrice happy lovers" from The Fairy Queen
"Oh! fair Cedaria, hide those eyes"
"I attempt from love's sickness to fly" from The Indian Queen
"From rosy bow'rs"
"Let us dance, let us sing"
"Man is for the woman made"
"If music be the food of love"
"The fatal hour comes on apace"
"From silent shades, and the Elysian groves" (Bess of Bedlam)
"O solitude, my sweetest choice"
"Hark! The ech'ing air" from The Fairy Queen
"When first Amintas sued for a kiss"
"Now that the sun hath veiled his light" (An evening hymn)

Tickets: $55

Monday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
ARCANGELO
JoNathan Cohen, Conductor
Alina Ibragimova, Violin
Katherine Watson, Soprano
Nikolay Borchev, Baritone

JOHANN Sebastian Bach Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A Minor, BWV 1041
JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH Passacaglia "Mein freund ist mein"
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Concerto Grosso in D Minor, Op. 6, No. 10
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Apollo e Dafne

Tickets: $59, $70

Tickets are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

Photo © Marco Borggreve.