Watch: Carolyn Sampson celebrates 100th album

Soprano Carolyn Sampson has today released her 100^th album. Released on BIS records, But I like to sing... is a collaboration with Sampson’s recital partner, pianist and Leeds Lieder director Joseph Middleton.

The new album combines both popular and lesser-known lieder by German and Austrian composers including Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Richard Strauss and Hugo Wolf with French songs by Gounod, Poulenc and Franck, as well as works by composers such as Hubert Parry, Samuel Barber and Ivor Gurney. In the run up to the release, Sampson has shared a short video every day for 100 days on social media platform Twitter. You can find her final video, introducing the album and exploring its content from the Berlin Staatsoper here.

Talking about the release, Sampson said: 'This programme is not autobiographical, nor are these necessarily songs that have accompanied me throughout my career. But it is hugely personal, and I’ve chosen them because they reflect some of the ways in which music heightens our emotions, eases our pain, deepens our love. Singing somehow transcends our very being and, however briefly, takes us out of ourselves, out of our situations, and lets us empathise, weep, laugh... There are many dark things happening in the world at the moment, and I believe we have to look for the joy and the light, and embrace it. I could not be more proud to share this, my 100th recording, with you!'

Sampson’s latest album also presents works by female composers, bringing light to rarely-performed songs by Rita Strohl as well as presenting works by Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Kaija Saariaho, who died earlier this year. The release also includes a recording of Everyone Sang, a new commission by Deborah Pritchard written especially for Carolyn.

Audiences can also hear repertoire from the album live at a launch concert at Wigmore Hall on 6 December.