Appl offers a fine baritone with a good range and an ability to characterise skilfully – each of the Three Kings in turn in ‘Epiphanias’, for instance; throughout he is acutely observant of words as well as notes...as with the song accompaniments [Penthesilea] receives a committed performance here under the baton of Simon Gaudenz.

The eloquent Benjamin Appl makes a good case for several of those chosen for the album. In general, the more intimate the song, the more successful the performance.

This recording is principally recommendable for the many lovers of Appl’s singing, here to be heard at its best in repertoire which clearly suits him ideally; his diction is perfectly judged to the scale of the performances and the often sympathetic woodwind playing under the considerate baton of Simon Gaudenz.

What a treat to hear these selections from the Mörike-Lieder and Goethe-Lieder in full orchestral technicolour, with Appl responding in kind: Epiphanias is a particular highlight, with each of the three kings vividly characterised by Carl Steuber, and Prometheus takes on a near-Wagnerian grandeur in the composer's own orchestration. The early tone-poem Penthesilea is a substantial bonus, with the Jenaer brass having a blast in the all-guns-blazing battle-scene.

the orchestra beats what any solo pianist could do, even when the players are the Jenaer Philharmonie, not the sharpest in punch and sparkle — though with conductor Simon Gaudenz they make a good fist of that cauldron of sex and violence, the early tone poem Penthesilea.