This is the seventh release in Hyperion's laudable Schumann song series, a project which has received consistent praise from critics and musical voices worldwide.
It is heartening to welcome Ian Bostridge to this eclectic series and this young singer's superb timbre is all but beyond criticism in his singing of 'Myrten' and two sets of duets. The obvious star of this amply produced set is undoubtedly 'Myrten', a sprawling song cycle of fantastic beauty and far reaching scenic imagery. It would be beyond the scope of this review to list the countless felicities that permeate this cycle and Röschmann is also one of the shining lights in this magnificent repertoire.
Again, Hyperion has excelled themselves in the presentation with a sizeable booklet full of the usual stunning essays by Graham Johnson who brings his wealth of experience to these exhaustive collections. Stephen Layton's 'Polyphony' also lends a hand in the strangely titled 'John Anderson' and the whole project is another winner for the Hyperion label.
Copyright © 2002, Gerald Fenech