Here is something truly exceptional: something to gladden the heart of Nielsen-lovers who have been looking for a single-disc survey of his 200 or so songs that would come somewhere near the peerless Aksel Schiøtz (whose historic Nielsen recordings are collected on Danacord); something that could be commended to lovers of song in general; and something that brings international class of vocal delivery to this repertoire without traducing the essential Nielsenesque qualities of wonder, sympathy and homeliness.

Morten Ernst Lassen and Inger Dam-Jensen (winner of the 1993 Cardiff Singer of the World) both know how to float the sound; both know how to weight individual words and phrases without breaking the longer line; Ulrik Staerk is the model accompanist – not merely adaptable to every vocal nuance but an equal partner in setting the appropriate atmosphere and mood.

My only regret is that they have cherry-picked so many of the most popular of the songs that there seems to be no prospect of a follow-up – particularly regrettable given that the five-volume complete Nielsen songs on the Rondo Grammofon label now appears to be deleted. The new recording places both voices and piano at rather a distance, giving more sense of an empty hall than I would ideally like. But it is fairly easy to adapt when the artistry is so refined and the music so heavenly.