Songs of Light & Longing

Poulenc La Courte PaillePoulenc Violin SonataPoulenc Cello SonataChausson Chanson PerpétuelleFauré La Bonne ChansonCarolyn Sampson - soprano
Maxim Emelyanychev - piano
SCO String QuintetThis elegant chamber programme weaves together poetic and intimate French songs and chamber works, brought vividly to life by Carolyn Sampson, Maxim Emelyanychev and a quintet of SCO players.Poulenc’s La Courte Paille opens with 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 set in rich instrumental colour. Poulenc’s Cello Sonata brings wit, warmth and clarity, showing the composer at his most personal. Fauré’s radiant La Bonne Chanson closes the programme, glowing with lyrical delicacy and the shimmer of late‑Romantic song.