I have seen Matthew Rose several times at Glyndebourne Festival, impressive in such characters as Claggart in Britten's 'Billy Budd' and Nick Shadow in Stravinsky's 'The Rake's Progress' and this year as Collantinus in Britten's 'Rape of Lucretia'
The pianist, Joseph Middleton has been described by BBC Music Magazine as 'one of the brightest stars in the world of song and lieder'.

The mood for the opening song, Schubert's 'Grenzen Der Menschheit' (Man's Limitations) a setting of Goethe's text about man's insignificance before the might of the gods, was perfectly set up by Matthew Rose's imposing stance in the prelude (not that he can be anything less than imposing at six-foot-six in stature - a giant man with a giant voice!) The gravitas of the song was depicted in in Matthew Rose's expression and stance and realised through his magnificent bass voice accompanied powerfully by Joseph Middleton on the piano, firmly expressing the expansive chords in this song. In contrast, the prelude of the succeeding song 'Auf Der Donau' (On The Danube) began with smooth arpeggios describing a boat gliding on the glistening waves and the landscape beyond. This respite didn't last for long and we were soon plunged into the drama of the profound narrative illustrating man's futility once more. The third Schubert song 'Farhrt Zum Hades' (Journey To Hades) began with descending chords that set up the scene with the left hand piano accompaniment plunging to the bottom of the stave, then Matthew Rose led us on this uneasy journey in the dramatic recitative passages, with descriptive vocal shades and grave facial expressions.

The well-known 'Die Beiden Grenadiere' (The Two Grenadiers) by Schumann/Heine got off to a brisk march pace with Joseph Middleton driving the song forward relentlessly in the piano accompaniment, whilst Matthew Rose told the story, capturing the commitment of the two prisoners of war returning home to France after years in Russia, renouncing family and home in their patriotism and devotion to the Emperor.

The first half of the concert concluded with Brahms' 'Funf Lieder' (Five songs). Matthew Rose's deep bass voice is so suited to these low tessitura songs - he achieved a wonderful smooth line in the gloomy 'Mit Vierzig Jahren' (At Forty), a text by Ruckert pondering on the brevity of life. There were some effective dynamic contrasts in the other songs; in the sensual 'Sapphische Ode' (Sapphic Ode) which describes senses being heightened at dusk in the dew, there was amazing breath control at the end.

The second half of the concert comprised of some extensive ballads. Matthew Rose announced that Loewe's 'Tom Der Reimer' (Thomas Rhymer) was the only happy song in the concert of heavy ballads and so there were some lovely lilting dance-like passages and flourishes played exquisitely and with humour by Joseph Middleton in this song.

Loewe's epic 'Edward' followed. I loved the pace and drama created in this gruesome dialogue between mother and son and the characters were perfectly captured by Matthew Rose. After 'Edward' there followed an even more epic song by Loewe, 'Archibald Douglas' - this really was an opera! Joseph Middleton provided what seemed like a whole orchestra on the piano, and Matthew Rose vividly depicted this tale with wide ranging dynamics and drama whilst keeping the voice integrated throughout the whole range. The voice and piano were so together throughout this epic which contained more text than anyone would sing in a whole opera!

The programme concluded with some Wolf songs, providing a new harmonic language from the previous composers in the concert. In these songs again there was a vast dynamic range and vivid word painting in both voice and piano.
The final song was Wolf's setting of 'Grenzen Der Menschheit' (The Bounds of Humanity), bringing the concert to full circle. I preferred Wolf's intense interpretation of the text to the Schubert - the two final chords and sustained note in the piano was perfect. I was wrung out at the end of this extraordinary evening of epic song, I can't imagine how Matthew Rose and Joseph Middleton felt!

This concert featured settings of A.E Housman's A Shropshire Lad by Butterworth, Orr, Ireland and others, as well as readings of the poems to cover the complete collection. This collection of poems is one of the most important for composers of English song as these poems are generally uncomplicated and were extremely popular during and after the First World War. A Shropshire Lad was written years before both the the Boer War and First World War; the first poem of the set is entitled '1887', the depictions of doomed youth, lovesick and homesick, the rural idyll and the passage of time resonated with the national predilection at the time.

This concert was something not to be missed: wonderful poetry set by some of the best English song composers of the last century, sung by three outstanding singers, accompanied on piano by the patriarch of our current generation pianists and narration from one of the nation's greatest actors, all compiled into a seamless narrative. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that it was Graham Johnson's idea to put together the majority of A.E. Housman A Shropshire Lad poems as song settings by various composers, spoken poems and letters by Housman and create an astounding evening.

I have been familiar with Housman's A Shropshire Lad for a while and have a well-treasured book illustrated with lovely woodcut images, but I knew nothing about Housman's life and the possible inspiration as that of his unrequited love for a fellow student at St. John's Oxford in the 1880s, until Simon Callow magnificently read letters, poems and other writings by Housman. The evening commenced with Graham Johnson giving a humorous introduction from one of Housman's letters on how poetry should be concise, the more mono-syllables the better! Later on we also heard a pithy letter about composers treatment of poetry, and complaint of how they cut text and would they like it if poets cut out bars of their music? This was followed by a parody of a simple song setting from Housman's perspective. The three singers were outstanding from the beginning with Robert Murray and his bright resonant sound engaging the audience on all sides of the horseshoe shaped space. I particularly enjoyed his performance of 'Along the field' where he positioned himself forward into the audience space and was joined from the entrance by a violinist (unnamed in the programme). This song with just the sparse accompaniment of violin was beautifully performed.

Mark Stone, in contrast to the tenor voice, produced a rich dark sound, declamatory in some songs, a good storyteller achieving lovely phrasing in Butterworth's setting of 'The lads in their hundreds' and a very moving account of 'Is my team ploughing?' He captured the dialogue between the two characters without taking the core of the voice away too much in the ghostly character and thus avoided caricature. Joshua Ellicott was impressive as he stood forward to sing in very close proximity to where I was sitting, literally at spitting distance! He created a clean, clear, subtle tone but had power in his voice when needed, I loved his performance of Butterworth's 'When I was one and Twenty', capturing the directness and angst of the song in perfect tone.
It was nice to see Graham Johnson come to the fore from behind the piano and enthusiastically share readings and information about Housman, and I don't need to say anything about his playing - he just gets it right in terms of phrasing, interpretation and dynamics. I can't say much about Simon Callow either - he is just a master of the spoken word and pulled so much out of the poems and letters of Housman with humour and emotion as appropriate.

This whole evening was put together so well, the performers worked well as a team creating continuity throughout. The piano accompaniment would begin as the spoken text was just ending, creating a moment's overlap, singers would move seamlessly into different positions never detracting from the performance and often using the movement as part of it. Although I liked hearing different composers' settings of the poems, I would have liked to have heard one or two of Somervell's settings included in the programme, but I'm not complaining I heard many songs that I'd not encountered before and the whole performance was stunning. I hope that something similar can be done again.

Finzi's 'Earth and Air and Rain' is a song-cycle comprising settings of ten Thomas Hardy poems, composed in the early 1930s. Hardy was Finzi's favourite poet and six of the nine song cycles that Finzi composed are Hardy settings. This collection of poems, like much of Hardy, is preoccupied with themes of our own mortality and the transience of life.

Benedict Nelson is a Harewood Artist at English National Opera and has recently performed the title role in Britten's 'Billy Budd' among many other roles for ENO. He has also recently made his debut at Wigmore Hall accompanied by Malcolm Martineau. Sholto Kynoch needs no introduction; as the founder and artistic director of the Oxford Lieder Festival, who also specialises in chamber music and song accompaniment, he has performed on many occasions at Wigmore Hall, and in prestigious venues throughout Europe and beyond and has undertaken many recording projects.

After an affable welcome by Sholto Kynoch, (he is literally omnipresent during the Lieder festival, welcoming audiences to every one of the events) he took his place at the piano for 'Summer Schemes' and with the voice of Benedict Nelson invited us to journey into the season of summer with descriptions of bird song, streams and foliage. I immediately felt at ease with Bendedict Nelson's warmth of tone, and straightforward delivery of the text. He never tries to over emphasis, but lets the poems speak through his vocal interpretation.

Initially I was slightly concerned by the presence of the music stand by the piano, but I need not have worried because Benedict Nelson hardly referred to the score and communicated well with the audience. My only criticism is of the venue: Exeter College Chapel is a beautiful reverberant space, but it's not the best for the audibility of sung text, even with Benedict Nelson's immaculate diction. Fortunately, the balance between voice and piano was very even from where I was sitting.

I particularly enjoyed the forward motion set up by the piano's marching accompaniment in 'When I set out for Lyonnesse' and the expansive, but small song 'Waiting both'. This song is very reminiscent of another Finzi/Hardy setting 'Comet at Yel'ham', with both songs capturing the infinity of space with a high twinkling piano introduction but also, as in many Finzi songs, using the lower register in the piano too to great effect. Sholto Kynoch deftly set up the mood of this song and Benedict Nelson displayed his wonderful integrated vocal range and superb phrasing and timing of the question and answer described in this song, ending gently and poised. This contrasted nicely with the following song 'The Phantom' where he employed deeper timbres in the voice to emphasis this dark, dramatic narrative. I was impressed with how singer and pianist kept to tightly together in the rollicking 'Rollicum-Rorum', especially in such a reverberant acoustic and I loved the syncopated jabs in the accompaniment and the crisp delivery of the text. 'The Clock of the years' is a favourite of mine and both performers delivered the drama of the poem with its chilling conclusion. The song cycle ended with 'Proud Songsters' describing the singing of young birds that did not exist a year ago in their current form, but only as 'particles of grain, and earth and air and rain'. This simple, but profound text was communicated with sensitivity and feeling.

It was a pleasure to leave behind the hustle and bustle of Oxford city centre on a weekday afternoon for a mere forty minutes or so, and be transported away by the consummate performance of Finzi's setting of Hardy's great poetry that transcends all time.

I first heard Henk Neven a few years ago in a Radio Three broadcast of Bach's St.Matthew Passion from Amsterdam, I was really impressed with the tone and clarity of his voice. Then The BBC Music Magazine released Henk Neven's recording of Schubert's Winterreise with Hans Eijsacker as part of Schubert week 2012 and this recording became a much played favourite of mine. Since then I have seen his name pop up many times in recital, oratorio and opera but I had never witnessed a live performance, so I was delighted that he was performing at Oxford Lieder Festival.

The programme commenced with a group of Mendelssohn songs including settings of Heine and Eichendorff. Mendelssohn composed over a hundred songs to great German texts but they are perhaps less dramatic than songs of Schumann and Schubert. Henk Neven and Imogen Cooper immediately engaged the audience, drawing us in rather than performing at us. Personally I would have liked a greater variation in vocal tone in the first three songs, it just seemed a bit safe. However, as 'Jagdlied' (Hunting Song) began the performance took on a degree of freedom and the vocal colour opened up. The communication between pianist and singer was also apparent, with Imogen Cooper obviously relishing depicting the hunting horn on the piano. The group of Mendelssohn songs ended with the beautiful 'Nachtlied' (Night Song) Henk Neven achieving a smooth line and warm tone and Imogen Cooper's subtle delivery of the descending harmonies in the climax of the final verse.

The following set of songs was Schumann's 'Liederkreis'. This song cycle is a setting of Heine poems and was written when, after a long wait, Robert Schumann was able to marry Clara. This was a period of a great burst of inspiration for the composer as he had discovered a new found domestic bliss but was also plagued by a depressive streak. Through Heine's poetry, he could explore the tension between elation and despair. Henk Neven and Imogen Cooper drew the audience in and captured the emotions and contrasts of these songs. I particularly liked how they linked the songs, using Schumann's piano postludes to move seamlessly to the following song.

The final set of songs in this recital were by Mahler, all anonymous texts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Many of Mahler's songs depict the rural idyll with nightingales, cuckoos and lads in lederhosen, but the particular songs performed in this recital were of a darker vein commencing with 'Der Tamboursg'sell' (The Drummer Boy) a sombre dirge describing a young drummer boy's final moments as he is led to the gallows. In these songs, we were introduced to much darker timbres in Henk Neven's voice and much dynamic contrast; I felt that he really got to the heart of these songs, doing what a great lieder singer should do by taking the audience into the narrative, helped by Imogen Cooper's pianist depiction of drumming.

There was a bit of light relief in the song 'Trost Im Ungluck' (Comfort In Sorrow) and I enjoyed Henk Neven's characterisation of both the Husar and the girl. Darker thoughts surface again in the penultimate song, 'Revelge' (Reveille) as the character of the drummer boy now lying dead amongst his comrades. This was dramatically performed by singer and pianist but was never over-the-top. Most impressive of all was the transition to the final song 'Urlicht', (Primordial Light) the sustained final pedalled piano note from 'Revelge' carrying us through to the peaceful vision of eternity and the most beautiful, expressive, sustained singing which is extremely exposed in the sparse accompaniment of much of this song, (this song is featured in Mahler's 2nd Symphony) 'Je Lieber mocht' ich in Himmel sein' (I would rather be in heaven). I think that we may have been transported to heaven during this wonderful performance.

We were treated to an encore, where we had heard Mendelssohn's setting of 'Allnachtlied Im Traume' (Nightly in my dreams), and then to conclude, we heard Schumann's beautiful setting of Heine's text.