Songs of the legendarily charismatic Franz Liszt would seem – at least in theory – a great fit for magnetic Heldentenor Jonas Kaufmann. However, a number of elements conspire to keep this album from being all that it could have been, from Kaufmann’s vocal state for these June 2020 recording sessions to the almost claustrophobically intimate sound picture, not just in the stentorian tenor moments but for pianist Helmut Deutsch. Liszt’s overall sensibility is that of expanse. But any number of full-throated moments, starting with the opening song, ‘Vergiftet sind meine Lieder’, jump out at the ear with an effect that’s more aggressive than heroic. Kaufmann does scale back his voice successfully but more fragile songs become pallid. Several songs overlap with Vol 5 of Hyperion’s complete Liszt songs (11/18), and it’s there that one misses Allan Clayton’s more lyrical approach, with a smaller voice that more naturally accommodates the music’s expressive range.

Liszt recitals always have wild cards: this one includes a welcome handful of evergreens, such as the Petrarch Sonnets and ‘O Lieb, solang du lieben kannst’ (all famously recast for solo piano, the latter as the third of the Liebesträume). But Liszt’s less-charted realms include songs in several versions – some wholly recomposed, such as ‘Freudvoll und Leidvoll’, from which this collection takes its title. Also unpredictable is the composer’s narrative sense that employs a wide variety of musical ideas in a short space of time, and it’s there that Kaufmann and Deutsch conspicuously lack cohesiveness. In fact, they often embrace the episodic qualities by going for maximum impact in every verse, and even linger over Liszt’s extended endings. Pictorial effects come off here more like window dressing than doorways into a larger world, such as the water imagery whenever the Rhine is referenced and the cimbalom effects in ‘Die drei Zigeuner’, which are more evocative in the hands of Angelika Kirchschlager and Julius Drake on Vol 2 of Hyperion’s series (9/12).

Not that Kaufmann isn’t a credible lieder recitalist (though more with Schubert’s visionary Winterreise than the folksier Die schöne Müllerin). Curiously, he lacks rhetorical authenticity in the operatically ardent Petrarch Sonnets. Elsewhere he uses a micro voice, scaling back to what might be called a Helden-whisper. That works well against the spare chords and contemplative tempo of ‘Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh’. But in any number of other moments, Kaufmann robs himself of the vocal colours and range of articulation he needs to project a fully realised interpretation. One need not worry about his vocal health: after these sessions he went on to some of the best singing of his career in the Paris Opéra Aida in February 2021. And one must always applaud great artists who venture outside their comfort zones.