Two stanzas into the first song – ‘Litanei auf das Fest aller Seelen’ – and you all but forget any misgivings you might have harboured about a countertenor tackling Schubert ’s lieder...Jaroussky’s diction is immaculate; every word is crystal clear, every line understood and lived.

In his mid-40s, Jaroussky is already a veteran artist. Yet he sings Schubert as if it is new to him in all the best ways. He will not, as some great Schubert singers occasionally do, allow the music to simply sing itself. The artist is present in the foreground, vividly captivated by the interpretative experience.