Delius composed sixty-two songs, over half of which are of a Scandinavian flavour largely as a result of his long-standing friendship with Edvard Grieg. This wide-ranging recital encompasses the full gamut of his passions: Norwegian, Danish, French, German and English settings all sit happily within his oeuvre. Born in Bradford to German parents, Delius spent his formative years escaping from an England which he scarcely regarded as ‘home’ and from the family business of wool trading. As things turned out, it was the travel involved in the latter parentally imposed occupation which gave our aspiring composer the opportunity and inspiration to emigrate, setting up camp first in Sweden and eventually in France. A young Englishman and self-imposed exile create a heady mix of cultural references which our Anglo-Australian artistes clearly regard as ‘home territory’: these performances by Yvonne Kenny and Piers Lane are enthralling and draw the listener in to a world rich in multi-cultural allusion and unashamed beauty.

'These attractive songs are the music of a passionate young romantic … There are faint echoes of Grieg and Wagner, even, in a group of delicately atmospheric Verlaine settings, and also of Fauré and Chausson. Yet so distinctive was Delius’s sinuous harmonic style that even the simplest song could be by no one else … Yvonne Kenny is, as ever, a scrupulous, sensitive artist, always alive to mood and character. She vividly catches the bardic desolation of Twilight Fancies, the sensuality of In the Garden of the Seraglio and the wayward charm of The Nightingale Has a Lyre of Gold. Her poised, soft singing is heard to beautiful effect in the Verlaine songs, and in an exquisite setting of Ben Jonson’s So white, so soft, so sweet is she' (The Daily Telegraph)

'This beautifully recorded disc is a welcome addition to a relatively neglected area of the Delius discography. Delius composed some 62 songs, of which Yvonne Kenny and her sensitive partner Piers Lane have chosen 25; they seem completely attuned to their world, all atmospheric yet achieved with the utmost economy of means' (BBC Music Magazine)

'Kenny's voice remains a peachy, beautiful implement … She brings sensual colours to both word and tone; and she relishes the decadent voluptuousness of Verlaine's French … As with most of Hyperion's song recordings - no company is more experienced in this field - the balance of voice and piano is ideal and one can well imagine oneself at the Wigmore Hall in the company of Kenny and Lane' (International Record Review)

'This attractive recital of settings … Kenny's control of line is rock solid and her way with the music's shifting moods admirably precise. Piers Lane's accompaniments, too, are immaculate' (Classic FM Magazine)

'Kenny's voice and Lane's accompaniments are well recorded, very lifelike without being too clos e… the best available right now, and therefore recommended to admirers of his music and to Lieder collectors willing to stray a bit from the beaten path' (Fanfare, USA)

'This is a peach of a disc' (Delius Society Journal)

'Yvonne Kenny's vibrant, affecting timbre is just right for this repertory, tracing the lines (both musical and poetic) with expressive finesse. Only in "To Daffodils", following its adventurously winding, climbing vocal line, is one struck by the difficulties that lurk in these pages, and the Australian soprano dispatches them with ease, always keeping the lightness of mood and delicacy of sentiment required. Much the same can be said for her collaborator, Piers Lane, who excels at the piano in suggesting Delius's light haze of orchestral patina' (Opera News)

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Recording details: May 2006; All Saints, Durham Road, East Finchley, London, United Kingdom; Produced by Mark Brown; Engineered by Julian Millard; Release date: March 2007;