With 140 to choose from‚ here is an excellent selection of Beethoven’s folksong arrangements‚ performed with all due care and accomplishment‚ spirit and affection. The only question is: should one be recommending a selection when the whole output is currently available‚ neatly boxed and attractively presented‚ with 11 singers (including Lott‚ Murray‚ Ainsley and Allen)‚ equally fine instrumentalists and Malcolm Martineau’s lively touch coordinating all? That’s seven discs‚ which you might think is quite an outlay for a relatively unimportant part of Beethoven’s work. But if that is the case (and if this doesn’t involve too many other presumptions) – just wait till you’ve heard them! They are a joy: the songs in themselves‚ for a start‚ but more especially Beethoven’s work on them. Or put it another way: ‘work’ is exactly what it does not sound like. It sounds as though he met these tunes (sent him‚ mostly‚ by George Thomson of Edinburgh)‚ took to them like magic‚ found something in each that warmed his heart or set him dancing round the room‚ and eventually‚ sorry when the verses had run out‚ made him add a ritornello or coda like a pat on the back to send each on its way. I strongly recommend the complete set‚ but if a sampler or a selection is wanted then this one will do fine. Each number is a delight‚ but among the favourites are Faithfu’ Johnie‚ with its deep cello underlining the heart’s affections‚ The Pulse of an Irishman‚ both rumbustious and delicate in its fun‚ and‚ unexpectedly‚ God save the King‚ in which‚ in spite of its two peremptory calls to attention‚ Beethoven seems to be doing anything but. A special feature is the use of period instruments‚ effective in the more dramatic arrangements such as The Return to Ulster and the jovial party­pieces‚ Come‚ fill‚ fill‚ my good fellows and Since greybeards inform us. All three singers contribute ably‚ and the occasional collabor­ations in duet and trio are welcome. For those who have a comparable disc on Sony it may be useful to know that only six of the 24 songs are duplicated. But‚ by way of a final nudge in the direction of DG’s boxed set‚ even with the contents of the two singles added together‚ something like 100 songs still remain.