there's plenty of artistry here. For all the conceptual orientation of the disc, Boesch isn't the sort of singer who tells you what to think or feel in this music. He lays it out with hugely attractive (and protracted) clarity and then lets you enter the music a fuller participant.

We are never far from the solitude of the forlorn wanderer, but there is much variety...This fine disc, pervaded with sadness though it is, has a great deal to offer those who love Schubert's songs.

This is a most distinguished recital that confirms the stature of Florian Boesch as one of the leading Lieder singers currently before the public. His partnership with Roger Vignoles is clearly a fruitful one. Vignoles offers insightful and engaging playing throughout.

[Boesch] has an ideal voice, at once dark and dazzling, and his accompanist...is perfect...If a quest for expressiveness can lead Boesch to disturb the line of a phrase, The Gods of Greece, In the Forest, Autumn and the beautiful Mother Earth are splendid.

Boesch's singing is faultless: he's in fine voice and marvellously alert to every verbal nuance, without ever fracturing the line for the sake of the text. Vignoles, playing some of Schubert's most taxing accompaniments, tirelessly matches his every emotional shift. Very fine.