The song was Richard Strauss’ lifetime companion, from Weihnachtslied written at the age of six and Nebel (Mist) (Track 20) written when he was fourteen, to his masterpiece, Four Last Songs, that completed his life’s work. Although Strauss wrote over two hundred songs, many inspired by and written for his wife, barely a dozen are well known to the public at large. This recording combines such favourites as Ruhe, meine Seele (Quiet, my soul), Zueignung (Dedication) and Allerseelen (All Souls), with a host of lesserknown songs, all of which display Strauss’ mastery of the female voice in this genre.