Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Those who take an interest in singing competitions such as the popular Cardiff Singer Of The World will be aware that one composer keeps reappearing in the Lieder section: Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828). Schubert set the poetry of over 115 writers to music and The Deutsche Schubert-Lied-Edition is presenting all his Lieder, over 700 songs, grouped according to the poets who inspired him. There is much on this particular release that is not explicitly Christian. Some glorify God as creator: "Gott in der Natur" with words by Kleist, for example, but there is one song, "Der 23 Psalm" in a German translation by Moses Mendelssohn, that justifies the very reasonable price of admission all on its own. Unusually for Schubert, many of the songs on this collection feature female voices and several of the pieces are very good indeed. Actually, that praise is far too faint: every one of the 17 songs on this CD is very good indeed and some are better. There are 10 featured singers in various combinations, all held together by the project director and accompanist Ulrich Eisenlohr. This is not an explicitly Christian collection but it did this reviewer's weary heart a world of good and at the usual Naxos super-budget price it is well worth investigating.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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