In the miraculous year of 1840, Robert Schumann composed nearly 150 lieder, including the two outstanding cycles presented here, based respectively on poems by Heinrich Heine (Liederkreis, Op. 24) and by Justinus Kerner (twelve Kernerlieder, Op. 35). In the hands of two such outstanding artists as baritone Matthias Goerne and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, these two masterpieces invite us, performers and listeners alike, to share a state of transcendence and heightened consciousness.