Ravel: Sheherazade / Chausson / Duparc / Schumann / Brahms

Amazon.com

Thank God for this collection! It gives you just about everything you need from the French song repertoire, and a good chunk of the German, on two discs for the price of one. It's a first-rate bargain, particularly as Janet Baker's performances are invariably outstanding. What you don't get, unfortunately, are the texts, which is a real bummer. But don't worry too much, because just about any song from any time, place, and composer are about either the misery of love or the need for love, or the lack of love, or someone who is dying for love or of love, or who loves to love--you get the idea. All the rest is merely local detail. --David Hurwitz