Wolf, H: Ein Ständchen Euch zu bringen kam ich her (No. 22 from Italienisches Liederbuch) (Io son venuta a farvi serenata)

“…far from being depressing, the programming here, both thoughtful and vividly imaginative, serves to stimulate the senses and lift the spirit. A fresh and unmannered introductory performance of Bach's 'Komm, süsser Tod' leads with both tonal and spiritual ease into an equally direct rendering of 'Urlicht' from Mahler's Second Symphony - artfully and beautifully accompanied by Gees. with a quietly impassioned and sensitively paced performance of Mahler's valedictory 'Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen', the final track fades into thin air, concluding an anthology to savour slowly, and return to many times.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 ****

“Such a programme demands exceptional resources in its singer, and there is probably no one presently more suited than Christoph Prégardien. His tenor, always centred as a high baritone, extends into the bass range right down to the low D of "Der Tod und das Mädchen". He can also call upon a silvery spiritual quality which serves well in songs such as Brahms's "Feldeinsamkeit" and as a final blessing over the whole recital in that last phrase of Mahler's "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen". Michael Gees is one with the singer in the dedication of his own skills and in the imaginative sympathy that informs his touch.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2010

“As always, Allen was a supremely intelligent recitalist, matching sound with sense, probing the meaning of a text without fracturing the focal line” The Guardian

“This recital had no name; but it is pungent with Intimations of Mortality. Allen's noble baritone now incarnates this awareness superbly, whether in the numb grief of Hugo Wolf's 'Harper' songs from Goethe's Wilhelm Meister, in his lightly-breathed 'Anakreons Grab' or in the pathos-tinted Beethoven songs at the start.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2005 ****

“Allen at 60 sings with a beauty of tone and production which would be remarkable in a man half his age. …it seems to me that the warmth of feeling and the play of imagination have been enriched in him during the past five or six years, so that I'd be unlikely to find any comparable singer achieving a more satisfying balance between the vocal and expressive aspects of his art.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2005

“At last: a reissue of Hotter's 1953 Hugo Wolf recital, which forms the centrepiece of this release, and it's in far better, more immediate sound than on the original LP. Hotter's interpretations of Prometheus, Grenzen der Menschheit, the gloomy Harfenspieler Lieder and resigned Michelangelo settings – Wolf at his greatest – remain virtually unsurpassed. They were surely written with a bass-baritone of Hotter's calibre in mind and, quite apart from his vocal prowess, his verbal insights are once again remarkable, while the account of the naughty monks' exploits from the Italian Songbook remind us of Hotter the humorist. The earlier and later items that complete the CD disclose similar gifts, notably the delightful Der Tambour – and AnakreonsGrab, which, both in 1951 and 1957, matches the Innigkeit of Goethe's poem and Wolf's setting.
Moore is a masterly partner in music that severely taxes the pianist. This disc is a must for Wolf enthusiasts.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010