In building this series of the complete songs of Schubert, Naxos is also creating a catalogue of present day German lieder singers, and here introduce us to Florian Boesch. With a background of opera appearances in major European theatres and concerts on both sides of the Atlantic, the baritone has specialised in Schubert, including appearances at the prestigious Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. His approach is founded on the heroic quality of his voice. He has chosen songs that generally require that tone, the dark Totengrabers Heimweh (Gravedigger’s Longing) with its spooky qualities just right for a voice so well supported deep into the lower register. More than most singers in this series he risks a wide dynamic range that descends to a mere whisper, his acting ability being used to the full. Indeed, it is a theatrical approach that I have so often missed in earlier releases. This mood continues into Im Walde (Forest Night), before Boesch switches to a head tone as the boatman lies in his boat dreaming through Schlegel’s poem Der Schiffer. The disc does have many mood swings, but this feel of sombre thoughts ends with Grablied fur die Mutter ( A mother’s funeral song), a work that reflects his sadness at his own mother’s early death. The only weakness in his performances are in moments when speech almost takes over from singing in his urge to characterise, the song Lebensmelodien (Melodies of Life) being an example of this failing. Boesch finds a kindred spirit in theatricality in the accompaniment of Burkhard Kehring, a pianist never afraid to make a powerful statement, and after you have become accustomed to the tonal quality of the instrument as recorded, the balance between the two is exemplary.