“Much of this repertory suits Sampson wonderfully well. Her silvery tone suggests fragility from the outset, while her restrained way with words admirably conveys the vagaries of desire, distress and confusion…The disc owes its success as much to Middleton as to Sampson. His playing is beautifully subtle and accomplished, and you get a real sense of singer and accompanist thinking and feeling alike throughout.”
Editor’s Choice (April 2019) - “Sampson’s fresh, vernal soprano and Middleton’s warmly empathetic pianism convey all the complexities of the vulnerable women depicted here...Brahms’s unaccompanied setting of ‘They bore him barefaced on the bier’ makes for an unsettling, hypnotic opening track, and though Sampson does youthful fragility supremely well she’s equally affecting as the raddled femme d'un certain age in Poulenc’s La Dame de Monte Carlo.”
“All performed with Sampson’s wonted freshness of tone, superb control and subtle sensuality, with Middleton offering vibrant support.'“