You are a young, eager, inquisitive collector with, as yet, no Schubert Lieder in your library. Provided that you don't mind the disc being at full price, this (plus the Bonney reviewed on page 91) one would surely be the answer for you. The choice of songs gives a true and rewarding conspectus of Schubert's genius as a writer of songs. Here he is represented in all his moods, serious and light-hearted, searing and joyful, everything from the lover of life found in Der Musensohn to the grief-laden traveller of ''Der Lindenbaum'' (Winterreise) and ''Die Stadt'' (Schwanengesang), from the cheerful rider of ''Abschied'' to the spiritual thinker of Im Abendrot, and so many other 'characters' and moods encompassed along the way. Here is Schubert's world, its emotions and mysteries, encapsulated in miniature.
On the other hand, even if you are a collector well-versed in Schubert and perhaps investing in the Hyperion Edition, and/or with Fischer-Dieskau by your side, you could still profit by the purchase of this one-off CD, simply because Blochwitz's tenor, so similar to that of the equally excellent Pregardien, is exactly the right voice for this repertoire: a silvery, easily produced tenor, owned by an artist who sings German as a natural speaker and as an unaffected musician. Every piece makes its point yet with the kind of innate art that conceals art.
Others may have given more idiosyncratic, more personal interpretations of these songs; few have offered readings that will surely be as comfortable to live with. Lest that suggests any hint of dullness I would emphasize that Blochwitz is consistently keen with his words and judges all his shadings to near-perfection. As he has the ever-perceptive and musically faultless Jansen, so pellucid in his playing, as his partner this is a delight from start to finish; and that finish, a fitting climax to an intelligently planned programme, is the grandly romantic Auf dem Strom, with Marie-Luise Neunecker, a name new to me, exemplary in the horn part. Beautifully balanced and clear recording completes one's pleasure in a CD that must rank high in the increasingly large discography of Schubert Lieder.'