Pearl has served this adorable artist uncommonly well. The ‘Songbook’ disc is a kind of appendage, filling in important gaps but infallibly leading you back to search the Pearl catalogue for more. And it is all there, or very nearly. You want to hear her in opera – her Cenerentola, Carmen, Mignon and that extraordinary Octavian, are all represented. This new record is delightful in itself, though two critical, or at any rate questioning, points arise and perhaps it would be as well to have them out and out of the way before going further.

Many of these recordings – probably about half – have, if not at the start then well before the end – a harsh edge. This of course is not invented or imposed by Roger Beardsley, who has made many excellent transfers. It is part of the records; but it was not part of the voice. We know that from other records where it is not present and also from the testimony of people who heard Supervia in life. I have met a good many over the years: all have said that the quick vibrato is much exaggerated on records, and (this is the present point) that the other kind of rattle, an extraneous tinny harshness, was never part of it at all. The hard edge of those fierce low chest notes is quite a different thing: that is authentic and very exciting. But in the sense of tonal impurity (I’ve been repeatedly assured), she was never harsh. Now I’m aware this goes against the creed of a transfer-engineer, but to my mind, where there is a question of priorities – fidelity to the singer or to the faults of the original recording – the singer comes first; I would much prefer to risk subjectivity and reduce ‘top’ until the offensive intrusion is eliminated or greatly reduced.

The other negative point concerns words: it may be too expensive to print texts and translations, but with these little-known songs some brief outline of content really is necessary. Still, with or without understanding of the words, unforgettable is the opening Clavelitos, subtle and idiomatic La farruca which follows, incomparably vivid the dialogue in Lo frare, enchanting the spoken narrative introducing Gennai’s children’s songs, and as for the five in her newly acquired English, well, there, thankfully, we have no need of assistance and all is a delight of vitality, tenderness, humour and charm.