4 SCHUBERT 1823 [NEWBY & MIDDLETON]

Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D.795

James Newby, baritone
Joseph Middleton, piano

Few young singers inspire such critical acclaim as James Newby has enjoyed over the past decade: ‘Lieder is considered a rarefied pursuit. Yet when it’s delivered with the disarming openness of … James Newby it feels like the most direct form of expression there is … he has a wonderfully mellifluous tone, which he can deploy in a confessional whisper or an anguished cry’ (The Times). In partnership with Joseph Middleton, he brings us Die Schöne Müllerin [The Beautiful Miller Maid]. It is very much a young man’s affair – words and music by men in their mid-20s. Its subject? Love, jealousy and loss, the tale of a lad who falls for the girl who falls for someone else. It is rich in great melodies and piano writing that brings brooks, meadows and woods to life while vividly exploring the inner turmoil of the frustrated lover.