In their joint booklet note for this release, soprano Claire Booth and pianist Christopher Glynn make a passionate case for Arnold Schoenberg’s songs, ‘unaccountably neglected by singers and pianists’, as they put it. And so, to remedy matters, and to celebrate the composer’s 150th anniversary, the duo have gathered together a selection of their favourites, grouped in response to eight of Schoenberg’s paintings.

As a programme, it’s a great idea and provides the listener with a good overview of his output in this genre. Reflecting that output, there’s a preponderance of early-ish songs (1899-1908) rubbing shoulders with the three atonal songs of Op 48 (1933). Glynn throws in a couple of the Six Little Piano Pieces, Op 19, too, to great effect.

There’s never any doubting the commitment of the performances. Booth’s voice is bright and vibrant, conveying fiery urgency but always staying on the right side of shrillness. She’s a natural communicator, too; she draws you in and rarely lets you go. It’s just a shame, then, that more time could not have been spent on polishing her German, which rarely feels fully idiomatic.

And this perhaps adds to a slightly generalised impression in the more highly wrought expressionist numbers (and there are a lot of them), despite the excellent work from Glynn. I found myself enjoying most those songs that offer respite: the seductive ‘Waldsonne’, for example, the beautiful ‘Traumleben’ or ‘Geübtes Herz’.

The performers bring an innate musicality and naturalness to the Op 48 songs, too, which makes them a highlight. I was hoping, however, that Tove’s Song, excerpted from Gurrelieder, would work better with piano accompaniment than it does. And ultimately, for all their qualities, one is left unpersuaded that Schoenberg’s songs, pace the booklet, are on the same level as those of Mahler, Wolf or Strauss – an optimistic assertion, I’d argue, at the best of times.

It’s an admirable project, nevertheless, and any new recording of this repertoire should be warmly welcomed.