Metropolitan Opera tenor has a warm voice that is enjoyable in itself, and it is favored by the intimate, moderate dimensions of this recital, accompanied not only by 's frequent collaborator on piano but also by in works by and . The combination is something that might have appeared in a true chamber recital of a century ago, and it sets and maintains a deeply reflective mood, but there is more to than its surface beauties. assembles a program that leans toward the French strain in American music without holding to it exclusively, and the result is a varied sequence of songs with a solidly grounded stratum and several rarer items. One is the set of , of , in French (and to French-language texts by , so both artists were working in a second language, so to speak). These are underrated, philosophical pieces originally written for . The songs of have not been revived to the degree of other parts of her output, and the two French-tinged pieces here, to texts by , are superb. Even less familiar and even more philosophical is the of , to texts by (in English). The texts of 's nine-song cycle , by the young , are also challenging and trace the path of a love affair. With excellent sound from Chicago's WFMT studio, this is a vocal recital with both beauty and depth. ~ James Manheim