Heimat – that not-quite-translatable German term encompassing rootedness, longing and belonging – is the subject of the German-born, UK-based baritone Benjamin Appl’s first major-label disc. It’s weighted towards German song but also includes several from Appl’s adopted home, as well as Grieg and Poulenc. His Schubert, Brahms and Wolf are impressive, thanks partly to James Baillieu’s finely judged piano playing, even if Brahms’s Lullaby sounds a touch overegged in Appl’s beautifully produced diction. Nothing, though, is as poignant as a gorgeous, wistful little popular song by Adolf Strauss, written in Terezín days before he was sent to Auschwitz and his death. One occasionally wants more depth of colour in Appl’s voice, but the climax of Richard Strauss’s Allerseelen shows strength in reserve. Appl was mentored by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and while it’s a bit early to be naming him as successor to that great singer, as some are doing, this disc shows great potential.
