no one mentioned Abendempfindung yet?

Most of Schubert's Lieder...

At the moment it is "Sure on this Shining Night" by Samuel Barber. Closely followed by:

The Choirmaster's Burial from Winter Words - Britten
"O Rose Thou Art Sick" from Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings - Britten
On Wenlock Edge - Vaughan Williams

Oboy, as a vocal accompanist this is one DIFFICULT question.

For Lieder, I'd say almost anything by Schumann, Brahms, Strauss and Wolf. I like Schubert a lot, but he's very 'tricky' for me to accompany. Of the song cycles I've accompanied, I've had the most pleasure with Schumann's "Dichterliebe" and Brahms' "Zigunerlieder". I'm very fond of Mahler's "Songs of a Wayfarer", but it's been fairly troublesome finding Mahler's original piano score and NOT the piano reduction of his orchestration.

As to Art Songs, I'm just a sucker for Samuel Barber and Serge Rachmaninov, even though one has to be VERY careful in the accompaniments to Rachmaninov's songs--they can sometimes overpower the singer. Copland's "Old American Songs" are a delight--it's hard to program just a few on a recital--you always want to program both sets, they're such audience-pleasers.

Tom

<StlukesguildOhio I absolutely love Fischer-Dieskau... to the point that I am seriously contemplating this rather pricey 21 disc boxed set>

Just be aware that there may be no libretto/text of songs in this box set. I have it, it is wonderful, but I also happen to have all 37 CDs of the complete Hyperion Schubert edition, so I have the texts at hand, although it is a bit tedious to fish them out every time I want to follow the words of a song.

These are such special recordings that it is worth your while to buy the original Fischer Dieskau set which came in 3 boxes - they, I understand, do have the full texts. This box set you refer to is a budget "no frills" one. Unless they have added a full booklet since - mine came with only a list of the songs and a brief intro.

ich bin der welt abhanden gekommen - mahler. that is ...
sung by ludwig or baker

also i love strauss four last songs especially beim schlafengehen and abendrot

oh oh and... der leierman from schubert's masterpiece die winterreise

picking one is mighty hard to do