Responsive to Schumann's elaboration of the postlude as a means of commenting or emotional elucidation, Werner hitches an extinguishing coda to the last song that dovetails exquisitely into the start of Dichterliebe - a fading dream metamorphosing into a gently awakening one. And what expressive range Charlston and Kynoch bring to Dichterliebe!

Charlston relishes Werner’s haunting, folk-inflected vocal lines, her wine-dark mezzo-soprano savouring every drop. Pianist Sholto Kynoch, who embellishes the narrative by speaking, humming and even knocking on the piano, is an absolute rock. A similar resourcefulness breathes life into Loewe’s Die Lotosblume and Fanny Mendelssohn’s Schwanenlied, Charlston’s voice flowing like molten lava, every word crystal clear.

What’s the first delight in Helen Charlston’s new album? Undoubtedly the British mezzo-soprano’s compelling voice, which moves about with such ease, floats the lines so feelingly and shares the words with a sensitivity that can turn your insides to jelly...This is a marvellous recital.

treating Heinrich Heine’s verse as a bridge across voices and ages, we get a fascinating handful of framing settings: from the composer’s contemporaries, but also in the form of a newly commissioned cycle by Heloise Werner. The result is playful, poetic and exquisitely performed.