{TABLE} Spanisches Liedcrhuch (part 2) ........ Wolf {/TABLE} BMW SONG CIRCLE is at the forefront of some of the most welcome recent developments in Ireland's concert life. Last Sunday afternoon's recital in the National Concert Hall's John Field Room was typical. Rather than a cobbled together programme of the sort which, all too often, seems designed to display a singer's versatility, we had the second of two concerts (the first was reviewed earlier) driven by whole hearted, wholesome and purely musical ambition.

Wolf's Spanisches Liederbuch is among the more demanding collections by this most demanding of Lieder composers. It was not conceived as a cycle, so spreading the songs across two successive Sundays, and not in the published order, is perfectly acceptable.

Song Circle was founded in 1994 by Colette McGahon and "other like minded musicians" (her words) who felt that song was not receiving proper attention. This concert, and others I have heard, show that proper attention means a substantial and coherent programme, a good pianist, good translations in the programme notes, and singing which embraces the texts as intensively as the music. The group's ideals recently attracted sponsorship from BMW.

Colette McGahon and Philip O Reilly sang two or three songs at a time, and Hugh Tinney was the pianist. Wolf takes its limit to the concept that the piano should define the song's expression. Tinney's range of colour, his technical prowess and his attention to vocal nuance made him a pleasure to listen to.

Wolf's subtle, Wagner inspired declamation places special demands on the singer and requires a detailed understanding of the text. Both singers were on top form in this respect, and in pacing and vocal colour. I can forgive the odd slip in German, and would willingly have stayed to hear, after a decent interval, the remaining songs in the collection.