Deborah Polaski is renowned as a strong, sincere interpreter of Brünnhilde and Elektra among others. On this evidence – for she sings all but four of the songs – she is a novice in the intricate art of Lieder. The opening ‘Von ewiger Liebe’ (Op 43) suits her broad brush well enough, and ‘Die Mainacht’ is sung with keen line and tone. She also does well by the impressionist, comparatively undemanding pieces that comprise Op 70, among them the beautiful ‘Lerchengesang’.

But as the recital progresses one longs for a greater variety of dynamics and expression, and the kind of detailed interpretation so many of her predecessors have brought to Brahms’s most impressive contributions to the genre contained in these complete sets. She seems almost uninvolved in the deep feelings of ‘Feldeinsamkeit’ (Op 86), quite missing the inner meaning of its key line, ‘Mir ist, als ob ich längst gestorben hat’, which, long ago in these pages, Alec Robertson expatiated on at length when reviewing Hans Hotter’s unforgettable performance (EMI, 9/52). Where is the passion and longing of Lehmann in ‘Das Tod, das ist die kühle Nacht’, or Fischer-Dieskau’s wonderful caressing of that timeless melody that is ‘Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer’ (Op 105)? Those content with an even and vocally likeable traversal of the music may be content with what they hear, but the soul of the poetry and settings often goes missing.

Christian Elsner, seemingly only there to take on the four songs that Polaski eschewed, gives life to the texts in a way his partner fails to do. He is particularly successful in the quirky ‘Versunken’ (Op 86) and in the final song of all, ‘Verrat’, that Eric Sams in his book on the songs (Yale: 2000) graphically calls ‘a ballad to infidelity’, though it really needs the biting tones of a Kipnis to convey its full import. Charles Spencer is the perceptive pianist throughout. The recording, made five years ago, is excellent. There are no English translations.