An all-Dvorák song recital may still seem a luxury. The Gypsy Songs, and not just their famous fourth (‘Songs my mother taught me’), have found a secure place in the repertoire, but not much else is heard at all regularly either in recital or on disc. They may lack the variety of mood to constitute a fully satisfying programme on their own, but at no point do they fail to give pleasure or to suggest that greater rewards will be in store on repeated listening.

Reviewing Magdalena Kozená’s recital with Graham Johnson, Hugh Canning speculated on the causes of the continued unfamiliarity of the B160 set: each of the eight songs he thought ‘such a masterpiece that their rarity on disc can presumably only be explained by the fact that Czech is an alien language to most recitalists’. Not, however, to the Argentinian mezzo Bernarda Fink, who comes from a Slovenian family, lived in Prague for a while and has made a special study of Czech music. Her diction is certainly very clear: following the transliterated texts presents no obstacles, which is not always the case. Her tone is richer and deeper than Kozená’s, and the manner has warmth and dignity, though here, as at a recent Wigmore Hall recital, these seem to be its limits.

If you come to the Gypsy Songs with Anne Sofie van Otter’s recording sounding in preparation, you’ll miss, in Fink’s singing, a whole lot of colour, imagination and temperament. There may be some relief, too. Bengt Forsberg is ever-present, his grand piano letting you know, rather in the manner of a brilliant poster or loud film-trailer, that the gypsies are coming to town. Von Otter (in German) remembers that gypsies are supposed to be hot-blooded, sensual and a bit dangerous. Their recording is exciting but assertive. Fink and Vignoles, I fancy, may prove more companionable.

Hugh Canning also mentioned in his review the now-deleted Benacková-Firkuzny recital (RCA, 1/94), and this goes further, seeking out the delicacy and tenderness. That’s still the one for me. But this new issue is more than welcome: tasteful and often lovely performances and a generously comprehensive selection.