Apart from very occasional live performances of the Italian Songbook, Wolf’s 46 remarkable songs can only be experienced and appreciated in their entirety from recordings. This disc from Bonney and Hagegård keeps distinguished company with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Irmgard Seefried (twice: 1958 and 1959); Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (1969); and Ruth Ziesak and Andreas Schmidt (1991). Wolf’s settings of Paul Heyse’s mid-19th-century translations of Italian folk verses offer an intricate and colourful tapestry of reflections on life and love. The craftsmanship of these songs is truly amazing.