After receiving huge praise for his debut album on Deutsche Grammophon, baritone Andrè Schuen continues his Schubert journey. Schubert's enigmatic final collection of songs, Schwanengesang, is the subject of Andrè Schuen and his longstanding accompanist Daniel Heide's second release for Deutsche Grammophon. Schuen calls Schwanengesang "my greatest love among the Schubert lieder. Especially the Heine settings; they move me the most!". © Deutsche Grammophon

How could it be less than ideal? The songs are among the greatest ever written: Gretchen am Spinnrade, Erlkönig, Nacht und Träum. The orchestrators are all superb composers: Brahms, Berlioz, Liszt, Webern, Reger. The singers are as good as it gets right now in German Lieder: the brilliant and sensual Anne-Sofie von Otter and the powerful and insightful Thomas Quasthoff. The conductor is arguably the greatest living conductor and the orchestra is his own trained instrument. How could it be less than ideal? It is ideal. Von Otter is terrifying in Gretchen am Spinnrade and terrified in Erlkönig, delightfully sly in An Sylvia and endlessly rapt in Nacht und Träum. Quasthoff is infinitely touching in Tränenregen and magnificently imperious as Prometheus, deeply affectionate in Du bist die Ruh and relentlessly heroic in An Schwager Kronos. Abbado brings out the best in every orchestration, but he particularly shines in the Brahms and sings in Webern and orchestrations. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe plays superbly and DG's sound is wonderful. This is an ideal Schubert recording.© TiVo

Composed around 1716 and named after the friend and contemporary of Handel's who penned its texts, Hamburg poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Handel's passion oratorio, Der für die Sünde der Welt gemarterte und Sterbende Jesus, was one of only two projects he set to German texts after his move to London in 1712. A free paraphrasing of the Passion narrative, drawing on all four gospels, in musical terms its fresh interests come thick and fast: a three-part opening Sinfonia which shares material with Handel's Opus 3 Concerto in G Major; 28 arias, two duets and a trio ranging from warm serenity to impassioned outbursts; plus various choruses and chorales. All of which means that it's music ripe with potential to be leaping out of the stereo from end to end, which is exactly what we have here from this performance from Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo, captured with crisp naturalness at St Jude's Church. To begin with Arcangelo themselves, listen to the sudden theorbo swing one minute into the opening Sinfonia at the metre change, and you'll have the measure of these fleetfootedly joyous, brightly crisp instrumental ensemble performances. Then there's the vocal line-up, because if it weren't enough to have soprano Sandrine Piau as the Daughter of Zion, tenor Stuart Jackson as Evangelist and baritone Konstantin Krimmel as Jesus, look at the vocal consort and there's sopranos Mhairi Lawson and Mary Bevan, altos Alex Potter and David Allsopp, tenors Matthew Long and Andrew Tortise, baritone Marcus Farnsworth and bass William Gaunt. It's hard to pick highlights. However Krimmel's sombre accompagnato Ist's möglich, das dein Zorn sich stille strikes for his sombre drama. Then there's the clean-toned tender beauty of Piau's Brich, mein Herz, zerfliess in Tränen, supported by theorbo fabulously out in front in the balance, and delicate upper strings. Or Mhairi Lawson's warmer tones over her short but very sweet Ich seh' an einen Stein gebunden, where an equal star of the show is Cohen's rippling harpsichord playing. Or lead violinist Michael Gurevich over Dem Himmel gleicht sein buntgefärbter Rücken, whether in his beautifully coloured and shaped solos spots where the engineering puts him satisfyingly right in the spotlight, or when he's sensitively dueting with Lawson, placed slightly further back. Handel vocal music at its finest. © Charlotte Gardner/Qobuz