Suren Shahi­Djanyan posesses a pleasantly warm‚ well­focused bass of somewhat baritonal hue‚ attuned to much in Tchaikovsky’s song style. He handles the famous ‘None but the lonely heart’ simply and without more than a touch of sentimentality; he is touching in the forlorn glimpse of love across the crowded ballroom‚ ‘At the ball’; and he maintains a strong‚ steady line in the emotionally more profound ‘I bless you‚ forests’. Each of these songs in its way keeps to a direct‚ contained emotion‚ and it is when the mood varies or widens that he can lack modifications of colour to express a song’s full potential. In such situations‚ he can resort to crooning or even to falsetto (as in ‘Cradle Song’)‚ which is not the answer. However‚ he never forces his tone‚ which is consistently attractive‚ and his simple‚ well­judged phrasing makes much of‚ for instance‚ ‘My genius‚ my angel‚ my friend’. It is possible to feel that a more sensitive pianist might help him to widen his range‚ for though Claude Lavoix is technically well in control of these songs‚ they can seem to wilt a little under her attack‚ as in the peremptory performance of ‘Don Juan’s Serenade’. They need a very sensitive hand‚ as was shown in the memorable cycle of Tchaikovsky songs with Vladimir Ashkenazy accompanying Elisabeth Söderström (Decca‚ 7/82‚ 8/83 – nla). It is difficult‚ in any case‚ to recommend this recital since‚ despite a sensible short commentary by André Lischke‚ there are neither texts nor translations.