The mighty Sampson

As soprano Carolyn Sampson turns 50, she tells Ashutosh Khandekar about the development of her voice through a remarkable catalogue of recordings

- Ashutosh Khandekar

‘They’re such nice numbers!’ It’s an unusual observation from a singer – but then Carolyn Sampson is the daughter of two maths teachers, so perhaps she appreciates more than most the beauty of the numerical coincidence that has taken place in her life. Sampson will turn 50 on 18 May. Meanwhile, she has celebrated the release of her 100th album, but I like to sing…. And crowning a career of accolades, this January she was awarded an OBE for services to music.

Her new album, released on BIS, takes its title from a line in Leonard Bernstein’s song ‘I Hate Music!’, a tongue-in-cheek commentary on concert going and the snobbery that exists around it (‘…A lot of chairs with a lot of airs’). The sentiment suits Sampson’s quietly irreverent, down-to-earth nature. Launched at a recital at Wigmore Hall in London last December, but I like to sing… shows off her extraordinary range, inventiveness and stylistic versatility, from classic German lieder to unfamiliar (but stunningly beautiful) French chanson and contemporary song. It all feels very personal, but with a forward-looking thrust. ‘There are songs that have meant a lot to me through my life, but it isn’t intended as a “career retrospective”. There are new discoveries and some fresh thinking that I hope will point the way for my future.’