As far as single-disc Schubert song recitals go, they don't usually get any more attractive than this present one: At 70 minutes, with a fair mix of well-known and obscure songs, all arranged in a sensible order and presented by one of the sweetest tenor voices around, one can hardly go wrong with this CD.

It is almost a sin to attempt to find fault with Ian Bostridge's delivery of these 22 songs, which explore a myriad of emotions: His golden tones are shaded with utmost refinement, innate good taste, and keen musicianship and identification with the libretto. His technique is practically flawless, and his boyish timbre layered with masterfully controlled range of colour.

So is there really nothing wrong with this disc at all? Well, I suppose the most glaring flaw, a word I truly hesitate to use in the first place, is Bostridge's propensity for self-indulgence which mar some of these interpretations. Certain songs are taken to interpretative extremes -- mostly lingering at very slow tempi on the lower end of the dynamic range -- and Bostridge seems overly narcissistic at times, stretching simple Schubertian tunes to almost stupefying lengths. The result is almost always very beautiful, even sensuous, but one wonders whether all the excesses are truly necessary. An die Musik could have done with a more plaintive delivery rather than the mushy drawl that we have here; Wandrers Nachtlied II, at an overly dreamy pace, with almost half-asleep Debussyian tones to match, becomes unnecessarily equivocal; Collin's Der Zwerg is just this close to sounding like a lame whine.

As on their recent Schumann recital disc, pianist Julius Drake proves to be a sympathetic partner, perhaps even more imaginative this time round, although his view is (necessarily) similar to Bostridge's, and he offers some over-pedalled atmospheric playing in many of the slow numbers.

But having said all that, one notes how, despite possessing an instrument so wonderfully light and fresh that it seems incapable of sounding anything different, Bostridge is able to vary his timbre sufficiently to portray the four different characters in the dramatic Erlking. The jovial, jaunty numbers like Der Musensohn come off best: fresh, buoyant, springy, and, best of all, sincere, although Drake's rhythmic accompaniments could do with a stronger tact.

Whatever the reservations, this is, like I mentioned at the outset, a delightful recital disc that will certainly provide much pleasure for all admirers of this promising young singer, especially when recorded in such warm and intimate sound.

Copyright © 1998 Lionel H Y Choi