The tenor, Werner Güra, partnered ideally by Christoph Berner, sings the familiar Staendchen as if it had just been discovered., all charm and freshness, and there is a similar effortlessness lightness of tone in Abschied,
so blithe and gay where one might have expected heartbreaking intensity. He is at his darker and most insightful in the extraordinary In der Ferne and in the thunderous oratory of Der Atlas. And was there an ever more poignant
depiction of lost love than in Ihr Bild? Güra sings it with a wonderfully veiled tone. As for Die Stadt and Der Doppelgaenger, these are songs that anticipate Wolf and here accorded performances of the highest distinction
by singer and pianist.