With a project as well realised as this, one reflects how Weber and Kind’s great 1821 work may still be undervalued as a radical piece of music theatre. It was the first great German Romantic opera; a ‘spook’ story certainly, contemporary with the first literary Dracula and Frankenstein tales, but also the first to look at that subject matter from a psychological point of view as opposed to just crude theatrics. It is an opéra comique with spoken dialogue (or should be – see below) but Weber’s all-embracing musical setting knocks hard at the door of through-composed music drama. There is not really a Leitmotif system at work here but the musical identification of character and motif is every bit as instant as in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Indeed, its influence can still be heard in Bizet’s Carmen half a century later.

Despite, or because of, these challenges Der Freischütz has long been lucky on the gramophone: a much-loved early Joseph Keilberth (now Warner, 11/89), admired performances under Wilhelm Furtwängler (various labels), Colin Davis (RCA/Sony, 7/91, and LSO, 8/13), Kleibers father (various) and son (DG, 12/98) and Harnoncourt (Teldec/Warner, 11/96).

Marek Janowski is on something of a golden run at the moment with German stage classics on disc – the Pentatone mature Wagner; an even better Ring cycle briefly seen on Sky from his belated Bayreuth debut; Hänsel und Gretel. His second Freischütz (the first was on RCA/Sony, 1/95) has a more, shall we say, relevant cast – which brutally means less Italianate – and a searching relationship with the Frankfurt orchestra. In this – although I suspect the maestro has no direct interest in this ‘school’ as such – a large modern orchestra plays with all the colour and varying tonal weight of an informed period band. Everything from bumpy local peasant dancing and brass bands to ghost-like tremolandos and intervals in the Wolf’s Glen is brought fully into focus.

The cast features the much-discussed new star Lise Davidsen as an Agathe of one’s dreams – the voice sounding fuller and more secure at the bottom than on her debut recital album; the interpretation of the role (not so easy to pin down) already clearly much worked on. Andreas Schager is Max, her wavering fiancé-to-be, with just the right amount of Helden to lyric in the voice. Fomina is a spicy and unpredictably colourful Aennchen, Held a less black and weighty but characterfully rich villain Caspar. Smaller roles and chorus are all in good voice.

There is a serious ‘but’: although the rest is so strong I’m going to suggest you ignore it, even if you have to spend much extra time programming your CD player. It’s been decided to replace Kind’s (in my view, excellent) dialogue with narrations spoken in the characters of Samiel and the Hermit. They’re written and directed by Daniel Weber and Katharina Wagner, who happens to be the great-granddaughter of one of the opera’s earliest and most passionate champions. Because these narrations are spoken by the voices of those characters, the effect is to do much more than merely tell the story. It adds a director’s ‘onstage’ interpretation (as it were) to the mix. And this Samiel is played by a woman …

Try before you either throw up your hands in horror or welcome a novelty. Otherwise I’d put this new release right at the top of the pile – until we get a major period-instrument release.