Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words review – Chamayou makes each piece feel somehow familiar yet fresh

Mendelssohn wrote 48 Songs Without Words for solo piano: eight sets of six, mostly under three minutes long, emerging over a 16-year period that spanned most of his short adult life. The handful that still regularly make their way on to recital programmes are only the tip of the iceberg; the complete set hasn’t been recorded as much as you might think, which makes this new release from Bertrand Chamayou still more welcome.

These pieces belong to the world of Schubert Lieder, and Chamayou brings a singing quality to them from the off. The Duetto that rounds off the Op 38 set is beautifully done, the melodic lines alternating like a female and male voice, each lingering just slightly as the other voice takes over. Compared to other interpreters, Chamayou is often softer-edged, his playing a little smoother and more flowing, although there are exceptions: Op 62 No 6 – known as Spring Song, but originally titled Camberwell Green after the then-elegant London suburb where it was written – is given a perky, almost frothy touch in the accompaniment: spring bubbling under like frogspawn in a pond.

Chamayou doesn’t present these miniatures as if he thinks they are profound, yet thanks to his seeming effortlessness they come across that way. For him, going through these pieces has been like “opening a trunk of family photos faded by time”. It’s also a good analogy for listening to him play them: each new piece feels somehow familiar and yet demands your fresh attention.