This programme brings together some of the most seductive songs of Joseph Marx, Walter Braunfels, Korngold and Pfitzner in a nicely balanced selection. All are lovingly wrapped in orchestral garb, which is a particularly attractive proposition with the Pfitzner songs – until now available on record, so far as I can see, only with piano accompaniment.

Juliane Banse first made her mark at the lighter end of the spectrum, and the voice sounds here as though it’s certainly gained in heft – once a renowned Pamina, she sings the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier for the first time this season. It has also, however, lost some purity, gaining (at least as recorded by BR-Klassik) a metallic edge.

She is persuasive in the generous Marx selection, though, turning in a particularly lovely performance of the gorgeous ‘Selige Nacht’ and sounding suitably sensual in ‘Ständchen’. I think, given the choice, I prefer the greater steadiness of Christine Brewer, who offers these songs and more on her Marx disc for Chandos, while Jiří Bělohlávek also offers more affection in the orchestral accompaniments.

Similarly, many might prefer the greater dramatic heft that Camilla Nylund offers in the three Braunfels songs – especially in the taxing ‘Die Geliebte des Kriegers’, where Banse is stretched. And though there’s little to fault in Banse’s Korngold, one can hear a greater sense of delicacy in Barbara Hendricks’s luxuriously accompanied accounts. But Banse is never less than convincing on her own terms, especially in the Pfitzner numbers: she is especially excellent in the wonderful ‘Venus mater’, the most touching of five included here.

Sebastien Weigle and the Munich Radio Orchestra offer warm, sensitive accompaniment. Not for the first time, though, BR-Klassik offer no texts or translations, and could also have thrown in plenty more lusciousness to add to the album’s somewhat measly playing time. Enough complaining, though: this is still an enjoyable programme, lovingly performed.