These intense and meticulously imagined settings of Rilke for unaccompanied soprano were composed by Knussen in 1988.  Over 10 minutes, Knussen responds to every nuance of these rich poems, with a rhythmic suppleness and exultant melodic sense which make this work a veritable tour de force for the interpreter.

'Knussen’s unerring ear for the relationships among the sounds, colours and rhythms of the words, patterns that generate poetic meaning.'
Boston Globe (Richard Dyer), 17 August 2001