A varied collection that offers more than just vocal bonbons…Connolly and Middleton execute the complex phrasing [of A Charm of Lullabies] with a sense of ensemble for which they are revered.

A truly lovely programme, this, as generous as it is absorbing… Connolly is at her characteristically supple, golden-toned and intelligent best throughout, and she enjoys impeccable support from Joseph Middleton. Chandos’s sound and presentation are likewise beyond reproach, and it all adds up to a disc that I have not the slightest doubt will give enormous satisfaction for many moons to come.

This is a wonderful selection, showing how influential the RCM has been in the development of English song in performances from Connolly and Middleton of exemplary commitment and luminosity. If it seems preoccupied with innocence, love and loss, capturing moments of intimacy and sacrifice and often providing relief too, these are elements of all great songs.

Far more than just a few songs at twilight, this recital is one of my summer must-haves as much for the repertoire as for the compelling performances: following Muriel Herbert’s sweetly elegiac To a Lost Nightingale, Ireland’s Earth’s Call sees Connolly letting her full-bodied mezzo off the leash, with Middleton despatching the virtuosic piano part with gusto. It’s great to hear a female voice in Tippett’s elusive Songs for Ariel, as well as two songs which Britten discarded from A Charm of Lullabies.

Connolly proves herself a worthy heir to Janet Baker in the lovely songs of Ireland, Moeran and Ivor Gurney, but this “garland” of 20th-century songs, superbly accompanied by Middleton as her equal partner, embraces “cycles” by the antipoles Britten and Tippett.

Given the disparate fare, there are surprisingly few duds among the twenty-nine selections. Indeed, the sequence is a miracle of planning that has woven a coherent programme out of fragments...Connolly renders [A Charm] with the intensity of a skilled stage actress.

Singing of mellifluous beauty (with sensitive interpretations of the texts) is the hallmark of this very attractive collection. The disc is also a reminder of Sarah Connolly’s finely honed talent and the often neglected accomplishment of English song over many years.

Sarah Connolly is to be double congratulated as programme compiler and for her admirably elegant and eloquent singing throughout, the musical accent largely introspective and twilit, her performances illuminated by adroitly judged treatment of texts and music.

The recording, from Suffolk’s Potton Hall, is especially vivid even by Chandos’ standards, with the pianist Joseph Middleton emerging here with equal credit to Dame Sarah. This is a real connoisseur’s choice, and I cannot recommend it too highly.