The common factor that links four of the composers in this programme is that they all lived and worked for some time in early nineteenth-century Vienna, where the use of the guitar in accompanying songs at salon level was a custom. Giuliani, Schubert and Diabelli had various degrees of skill on the instrument and Beethoven knew and approved of the guitar, though he never wrote for it. The market for songs with guitar accompaniment was generously catered for by publishers, amongst whom Diabelli was especially active; he is named as the arranger of Beethoven's Adelaide and Schubert's Der Wanderer. Giuliani, one of the leading guitar virtuosos of his time, of course needed no arranger and his songs were published with optional piano accompaniments. Spohr, another admirer but non-player of the guitar, used it in a number of his songs; several were published but we are not told whether those of his Op. 72 were among them. We are, however, told that ''Practically the entire Lieder opus of Schubert appeared in print in guitar arrangements'', a statement that will surprise many. The name of Brahms, the wild card, is not even mentioned in the annotation, nor is the songs' arranger—the Deutsche Volkslieder were published in 1858, the year of Diabelli's death.
Parcells has a clear and pleasant voice, centres her notes precisely and projects the fairly small range of mood of the songs well, though with little variation of vocal colour. Justen is a confident and capable accompanist, occasionally liable to fracture his tone when searching for greater volume. The recording is lifelike, texts of the songs are given (with English translations), but the brief annotation is inadequately informative. Altogether, it is a pleasing re-creation of a Lieder Abend in old Vienna, the variety of which might have been enhanced by the inclusion of one or two guitar solos.'