SONGS From The Heart was an adventurous exploration and, indeed, celebration of late 18th and early 19th-century German Lieder.

There were three song recitals throughout the day and although covering the same period, they were nevertheless distinct and rewarding in themselves. The first, Ornate Lieder, was performed by Mhairi Lawson (soprano) and Peter Seymour (fortepiano). It seemed to take a couple of the opening Mozart songs to find the right balance, but this could have been the time taken for my ears to adjust to the intimacy of the fortepiano.

Nevertheless, they were thoroughly enjoyable, as were the songs by Carl Friedrich Zelter. Gleich und Gleich was deliciously OTT, seemingly enjoyed by the performers as much as the audience. There were three settings of Goethe’s Über Allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh by Zelter, Carl Loewe and, of course, Schubert. All gems and all exquisitely delivered.

The most ornate songs were the Haydn settings edited by Domenico Corri, but although The Mermaid’s Song, for example, was indeed richly ornamented, Ms Lawson never let the virtuosity come to the fore, but was beautifully integrated into the song itself. Indeed, the singing throughout had a charm and freshness with the loveliest of tone colour.

The afternoon recital, Young Lieder, featured Siân Haines (soprano), Sam Gilliatt (baritone) and Nicky Losseff (fortepiano). Of the two fledgling performers, Sam Gilliatt seemed the more at ease. The opening two Mozart settings were both assured and very enjoyable, the two Winterreise songs both passionate and dramatic but most impressive of all was that Mr Gilliatt had a low register that was clearly audible – no small attribute for a young baritone voice.

Sian Haines seemed more nervous, not surprisingly given the scale of the occasion. Clearly Ms Haines has a fine voice and the demanding An Die Ferne Geliebte was very enjoyable. But the star of the recital was Nicky Losseff. Her playing was always engaging, informative and, well, simply full of vitality.

This brings me nicely to the evening recital with James Gilchrist (tenor) and Peter Seymour (fortepiano). The performance of Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin was simply majestic, this was music making of the very highest order.