In his song settings, Korngold pursued the Romantic ideal and lavished considerable care and inventiveness on their composition. His seemingly effortless gift for melody is everywhere apparent in this second volume (Vol. 1 is on 8.572027), whether in the early works or the songs from the 1940s, which would not sound out of place in an operetta or a Broadway musical. Also present, notably in the Drei Gesänge, Op. 18, is an exciting, experimental approach to harmony that reflects the music of his most radical opera, Das Wunder der Heliane (8.660410-12).