Winterweihe Op. 48/4
Winterliebe Op. 48/5
Waldseligkeit Op. 49/1
Traum durch die Dämmerung Op. 29/1
Der Schmetterling
Morgenrot Op. 46/4
Gesänge des Orients Op. 77
Krämerspiegel Op. 66

The more I listen to any songs by Richard Strauss (1864-1949), the more I'm convinced that they follow in the same astounding lineage of outstanding Lieder composers like Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann and Gustav Mahler. Especially when presented in such a wonderful package as this finely honed recital by tenor Daniel Behle. His previous 2012 recording of Richard Strauss lieder on the Capriccio Records label comes highly recommended and I can understand why. Depending on the character of each song, he can sound like a Heldentenor one minute, or deliver some sublime high register notes as softly as humanly possible the next. One can sense that there's an expressive musician behind the voice, focused on capturing and projecting the composer's intent as genuinely as possible. And it doesn't hurt to have in Oliver Schnyder an accomplished pianist and accompanist who doesn't simply provide support, but contributes his own highly expressive touches as well.

The rarely performed "Gesänge des Orients" comprise settings of five translations - or rather adaptations - from the Persian and the Chinese by Hans Bethge, a poet whose translations from Die chinesische Flöte had already inspired Gustav Mahler in "Das Lied von der Erde". The present album offers another remarkable rarity in the form of the song "Der Schmetterling" (The Butterfly) based on a text by Hermann Hesse. Also rarely performed but therefore no less worthwhile is the highly interesting "Krämerspiegel", a vitriolic attack on music publishers. The poems and Strauss music can only be fully appreciated and enjoyed when the listener is aware of the cryptic references to various publishers. All the many allusions and numerous musical subtleties are very clearly explained in the detailed booklet liner notes by Richard Stokes, a proven Strauss expert. {Prospero}

And speaking of the booklet ... the disc itself sits in a sleeve within a hard-cardboard booklet which opens like a little book containing over 40 pages of highly detailed background information on the music and the artists. It's obvious that plenty of care and forethought was spent on its creation. And based on the booklet notes, it seems that the aforementioned Der Schmetterling's music was actually composed by Daniel Behle himself in 2017. So well that had I not read the notes, I would have perceived it as being from Richard Strauss himself. This may prove to be one of this year's exceptional releases.