This is a fascinating and rewarding recital, which shows Jessye Norman’s considerable strengths as well as a few idiosyncrasies – for which James Levine at the piano, no stranger to a leisurely tempo, might also be equally to blame. The fact is, an approach that makes the central Wesendonck-Lieder compelling is applied also to the other repertoire, where it doesn’t always work so well.

The opening Strauss set is considered and calm, then, rather than ardent (the climax of a leisurely ‘Allerseelen’ is notably internalised), but the soprano’s mature artistry shines through in every bar. The delicate Tchaikovsky songs react to it less well, in performances that are also carefully executed and lovingly turned, but often just feel far too slow.

The account of the Brettl-Lieder – not that dissimilar here to the soprano’s studio recording, also with Levine – is perhaps not the last word of playful insouciance, but she does still let her hair down convincingly. The two encores include a grandly drawn-out ‘Zueignung’ and one of the slowest Habaneras I’ve ever heard.

It’s the Wesendonck-Lieder that provide the recital’s big heart. Here Norman’s breadth of phrasing and luxurious tone bring rich rewards (although captured towards the end of her career, and showing an occasional breathiness, the voice is in very good nick throughout). The tempos are very broad again, with ‘Im Treibhaus’ and ‘Träume’ both lasting at least a minute longer here than on Norman’s earlier Philips recording with orchestra, but she sustains them beautifully, and Levine’s caressing touch in the latter is supremely seductive. A disc well worth seeking out, for the Wagner especially.