If accompanists are often the under-acknowledged half of a vocal recital, then Malcolm Martineau's latest project, in which he performs all three of Schubert's song cycles with three different singers over the course of a day, certainly presents a visible pianistic tour de force. As a feat of strength on Martineau's part, the undertaking is impressive, though whether it adds much to the audience's understanding of the works is debatable.

Not in doubt, though, was the wisdom of Martineau's decision to perform the cycles in reverse order, beginning with Schwanengesang, then Winterreise and concluding with Die Schöne Müllerin. In the wake of two doses of unremitting gloom, there's something incredibly refreshing about a work that experiences the heights of joyous, youthful ardour before plunging to the depths of despair.

What the series did set up was a comparison between the styles of the young singers involved. Matthew Rose's Schwanengesang was a somewhat four-square affair; his sonorous bass failing to match the expressiveness of Martineau's playing, until in Der Atlas it found an intensity lacking elsewhere. In comparison, baritone Jonathan Gunthorpe had a more flexible approach, though his Winterreise didn't sustain the atmosphere of the most bleakly nihilistic of accounts.

The most complete performance of the day was that of tenor Robert Murray, the only singer to really inhabit his character (a task admittedly easier in Die Schöne Müllerin than the other cycles). From the lusty delight of proclaiming the beloved his, to the anxiety brought on by the arrival of the hunter, to the bitter sadness of betrayal, this miller's emotions were tangible, rendered all the more visceral by Martineau's vivid, extrovert playing.