Artists

Originally planned as a closing recital for the 2026 Festival, we are delighted to welcome Leeds Song Patron and the UK’s foremost mezzo-soprano, Dame Sarah Connolly alongside Leeds Song Director Joseph Middleton to give a very special recital, dedicated to Kathleen Evans BEM, current Chair and former Festival Administrator. Kathleen retires from her position as Chair this summer, and in recognition of all the time, dedication and passion she has given to the organisation over many years, this programme is made up of her favourite songs and poems: music that celebrates, inspires, consoles and uplifts.

Pre-concert talk

Please join us in The Venue at 18:00 for a free pre-concert talk – no booking is required. Cellist, musicologist and visiting Research Fellow at Huddersfield and Leeds Universities, Dr George Kennaway gives one of his popular pre-concert talks in advance of this recital. As a longstanding Leeds Song Trustee, George is well-placed to introduce this final recital of the week, dedicated to Leeds Song Chair, Kathleen Evans BEM.

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Programme

Programme

Franz Schubert
Ganymed
Die junge Nonne
An die Musik

Robert Schumann
Widmung  (Myrthen)

Clara Schumann
Liebst du um Schönheit (Zwölf Gedichte aus „Liebesfrühling“)

Johannes Brahms
Von waldbekränzter höhe
Unbewegte laue Luft
Wie Melodien (Fünf Lieder)
Verzagen
Von ewiger Liebe

INTERVAL

David Matthews
Three Hopkins Sonnets
The Windhover
The Candle Indoors
As Kingfishers Catch Fire

Henri Duparc
Extase
L’invitation au voyage
Chanson triste

Frank Bridge
Come to Me in my Dreams

Ernest John Moeran
Twilight

Ivor Bertie Gurney
Thou didst delight my eyes
Sleep (Five Elizabethan Songs)

Benjamin Britten
Sephestia’s Lullaby (A Charm of Lullabies)

Gustav Mahler
Urlicht (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (Rückert-Lieder)

Programme notes

Franz Schubert 1797-1828

An die Musik

Ganymed
Der junge Nonne

Schubert composed ‘An die Musik’ in March 1817 to a poem by his friend Franz von Schober. It was published in 1827 and only then was dedicated to the Viennese piano virtuoso Albert Sowinsky. It is one of Schubert’s best-known songs, due to its harmonic simplicity and subtle interaction between the voice and the lower part of the piano accompaniment. ‘Ganymed’ was written in the same year. Goethe’s poem tells the story, originating in Homer, of Ganymede, a Trojan shepherd abducted by Zeus to become his cupbearer. Homer does not go into Zeus’s motivation, but later writers suggested it was either sexual or admiration for Ganymede’s mind (Zeus does not have a strong record for the latter option). Goethe writes from the point of view of Ganymed himself. Throughout the piece, Schubert’s harmonies shift between major and minor, with varied textures evoking Ganymede’s impatience. The poem ‘Der junge Nonne’ is by the impressively named Jakob Nikolaus, Reichsfreiherr von Craigher de Jachelutta (1797-1855). Around 1820 Craigher had moved to Vienna, where he joined a circle of romantic poets. His poem includes many familiar romantic topics like the forest, the storm, and the grave, and these external phenomena are linked with the narrator’s own state of mind – except that the storm is happening now, and she sees her stormy emotions as something in the past, that she will escape in the convent. The orchestral character of the piano writing led to versions with orchestra made by Liszt and the conductor Weingartner – even a version by Schubert’s brother Ferdinand for orchestra and female chorus. Musically, the storm continues even as she anticipates union with Christ, her bridegroom – the patter of semiquavers in the accompaniment suggesting falling snow, the piano tremolando, the low octaves, the ringing bell, all persist to the end – so she may not find the peace she seeks. The soprano Sophie Müller described in her diary singing ‘Die junge Nonne’ to Schubert and his friend the singer Johann Vogl: ‘After lunch Schubert came and brought a new song, Die junge Nonne; later Vogl came, and I sang it to him; it is splendidly composed.’

Robert Schumann 1810-1856

Widmung

‘Widmung’ is the opening song from Schumann’s Myrthen cycle, composed in 1840, and it was one of Clara Schumann’s favourite Schumann songs – Myrthen was dedicated to Clara as a wedding gift. It was later arranged as an instrumental piece and was particularly famous as a piano solo by Liszt. The key change from A flat to E at ‘Du bist die Ruh’ is particularly effective, while the return to A flat is seamless.

Clara Schumann 1819-1896

Liebst du um Schönheit

Clara Schumann was one of the most distinguished pianists of the 19th century in a career that lasted over sixty years, and one who strongly influenced the piano recital format away from virtuoso displays to more serious content. She was a considerable composer of piano music, chamber music, and songs. ‘Liebst du um Schönheit’ comes from her three songs opus 12, first published as part of Robert Schumann’s 12 Lieder op. 37 – there was no indication in the first edition as to which songs were Clara’s, but Robert noted the details in his own copy. Compared with Mahler’s later setting, Clara Schumann’s is more intimate and the piano part is fuller, supporting a simpler vocal line.

Johannes Brahms 1833-1897

Von waldbekränzter Höhe
Wie Melodien
Unbewegte laue Luft
Verzagen
Von ewiger Liebe

‘Von waldbekränzter Höhe’ is the first of Brahms’s 8 Lieder und Gesänge op. 57 from 1871. The poet wants everything in nature to bring him back to his beloved. The overall mood of the song is consistent, but Brahms subtly creates a return to the opening music at the end. ‘Wie Melodien’, from Brahms’s op. 105 set (1888), opens with a striking phrase that recurs at each stanza – however this is not quite a strophic setting as Brahms varies the melody each time it returns. The voice ends the song with the opening melody reversed. ‘Unbewegte laue Luft’ is the last song in the op. 57 collection. The still atmosphere at the beginning is partly created by the slow tempo and the lack of a clear rhythmic pulse. This changes dramatically when the poet’s blood begins to race. ‘Verzagen’, from op. 72 (1877) is in three stanzas and set in the German ‘Bar form’, A-A-B (but the piano ends the song as it began). The piano creates the waves of the sea, and refuses the singer any rest. ‘Von ewiger Liebe’ (op. 43, 1869), by contrast, is almost folk-like at the start, rising to the girl’s emphatic declaration, and almost returning to the folk simplicity at the end – but the couple have deepened their relationship.