Thank you, Anna Prohaska, for not doing a Handel or Vivaldi arias disc; I am with my colleague David Vickers in wearying of hearing assorted singers rattle through a mixture of old favourites and pick-ups from their most recent roles. This release has its fair share of Handel, as well as a Vivaldi aria to open, yet with items by Purcell, Cavalli and Monteverdi on the running order it is an altogether more thoughtful Baroque selection. And while I am not sure that its ‘Enchanted Forest’ theme is actually all that strong (even with Daphne as a sort of central focus), I’m not complaining when it allows the inclusion of obscure numbers from a Purcell ode and a little-known Cavalli opera, finds room for the exquisite air for Night from The Fairy Queen (truly enchanted music!) and finishes up with Monteverdi’s heartbreaking Lamento della ninfa. With gem-like Purcell theatre tunes providing occasional links, this is a programme put together with intelligence and care.

Prohaska has a strong-centred voice with a slightly dark colouring which is striking in itself, if seemingly more suited to operatic repertoire than to intimate song. Jeremy Nicholas found her too monochrome in her last release, a wide-ranging chamber recital on the theme of sirens (A/11), but that is less of an issue in this repertoire, where the more outgoing and technically demanding Handel and Vivaldi arias certainly come off effectively, with Prohaska’s sometimes unconventional ornamentation adding a characterful twist (especially in ‘Tornami a vagheggiar’). Less successful are the Purcell items, which demand more lightness and clarity (not least in the matter of words), but there is depth and dignity in Cavalli’s ‘Resto imbalsamate’ and Prohaska touches the heart in Lamento della ninfa, even if her backing chorus of pitying males lacks intensity. Jonathan Cohen’s orchestral accompaniments are, however, of consistent high quality.