In 1840, a proverbial Year of Song for a composer who had last written romantic songs when at school, Schumann was galvanised by his love for Clara Wieck and the prospect of his forthcoming marriage, to pour out almost 140 of his finest Lieder. This, the third disc in a series of the complete Schumann Lieder, features his Album of Songs for the Young, described by the composer as settings of �poems suitable for children and of course only from the best poets�. Both musically and poetically, the cycle gradually increases in maturity and technical difficulty. It is coupled here with his Opus 27, in which Lieder with the themes of nature and love predominate.