The playing of the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach is both meticulously prepared and wonderfully idiomatic.

Sumptuously performed by the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under Christoph Eschenbach, the set includes ravishing accounts of the early Romantische Suite and the Nachtstück from the opera, Der ferne Klang to works for smaller ensemble including the Kleine Suite, Kammersymphonie, and Valse lente...This is a wonderful collection, ideal for exploring Schreker's orchestral output.

Eschenbach ensures that every little detail of the delicate orchestration shines through. Goerne's trademark baleful intensity is perfectly suited to the bleak Fünf Gesänge from 1909, whilst Reiss's bright, vernal soprano enchants in the two Walt Whitman settings.

The album’s title is pinched from Schreker’s opera Der ferne Klang, whose Nachtstück begins proceedings with its swelling climaxes and twinkling harp and celesta (the musical equivalent of icing sugar) — all spooned out with loving care by Eschenbach’s Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Then there’s the masterful 1917 Chamber Symphony, writhing about like Schoenberg with tunes, a work whose beauties invite us to curl up in ecstasy.