Haydn String Quartets: Op. 20, No. 5; Op. 33, No. 2 ("Joke"); Op. 54, No. 1; Op. 64, No. 5 ("Lark"); Op. 74, No. 3 ("Rider"); Op. 76, No. 2 ("Fifths"); Op. 77, No. 1. Philip Setzer and Eugene Drucker, violins; Lawrence Dutton, viola; David Finckel, cello. (DG 471327; 2 CDs)

Haydn’s 83 string quartets comprise an inexhaustible treasure of the Classical chamber repertoire. In their variety, structural and harmonic innovation, depth of content, and sheer joyous wit, they document Haydn’s creative growth over a 40-year span, during which he transformed the inconsequential divertimento into a powerfully expressive medium that engendered the quartets of Mozart and Beethoven.

Celebrating their 25th-anniversary season (see Alumni Spotlight), the Emerson Quartet has released an outstanding two-CD introductory survey of Haydn’s string quartets titled The Haydn Project. (A free sampler disc showcasing eight other Emerson CDs is included in the album.)

Encompassing seven of Haydn’s greatest quartets, composed between 1772 and 1799, this splendidly performed and recorded set displays all the familiar virtues of the Emersons: vitality, clarity of articulation, tonal beauty, equality of voices, a wide dynamic compass, ability to vary the degree of vibrato as appropriate, abundant virtuosity, and a willingness to take interpretative risks.

If the Emerson’s Haydn Project inspires you to further explore the Haydn quartet literature, try the superb new budget-priced 21-CD set of the complete quartets by the Angeles Quartet (Philips 464650). Also, respectable bargain-priced recordings by the Kodaly Quartet (Naxos) are available as single CDs.

Whether you already own or plan to own other recordings of this repertoire, the Emerson Quartet’s new Haydn Project constitutes an essential acquisition.

THE NAUMBURG FOUNDATION PRESENTS THERESA SANTIAGO

Vocal works by Obradors, de Falla, Granados, Villa-Lobos, and Turina. Theresa Santiago, soprano; Jorge Caballero, guitar; Eunmi Lee Moon, piano. (Musical Heritage Society 5160365)

First-prize winner of the 1994 Walter W. Naumburg Vocal Competition, soprano Theresa Santiago earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Juilliard, where she studied with Daniel Ferro. Her burgeoning career has included recent appearances with the New York City Opera.

This recording, taped in January 2000, spotlights Santiago’s attractive, high lyric soprano in a cannily assembled program of appealing vocal music by mainly Spanish composers not readily encountered together on one CD. (Texts and translations are provided in the booklet, but not in the same order in which the works are performed.)

Ms. Santiago sings Obradors’ Five Classical Spanish Songs and Turina’s Poem in the Form of Songs stylishly and with expressive flair, while Granados’ "The Maiden and the Nightingale" (from the opera Goyescas) is an enchanting miniature. Ms. Santiago’s sensitive pianist in these works is Eunmi Lee Moon, a winner of the 1995 Artist International Competition who received her master’s degree in accompanying from Juilliard and subsequently worked as associate coach at the Juilliard Opera Center.

Manuel de Falla’s Seven Popular Spanish Songs are heard in a surprisingly effective and idiomatic adaptation for voice and guitar, transcribed and played by 1996 Naumburg Competition winner Jorge Caballero; Ms. Santiago’s beautifully nuanced pianissimo singing in Nana is notable.

The soprano’s haunting performance of the opening Aria from Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 gives cause to regret the omission of the second movement. Although the accompaniment to the Villa-Lobos is an authorized guitar transcription by Andrés Segovia, one misses the original eight-cello ensemble.

Overall, this interesting, enjoyable, and well-recorded disc shows Ms. Santiago to be an artist of considerable achievements as well as still greater promise. Warmly recommended.

Mention this column at the Juilliard Bookstore to receive a 5-percent discount on this month’s featured recordings. (In-store purchases only.)

Michael Sherwin, marketing manager of the Juilliard Bookstore, has held Rockefeller Foundation and Fromm Foundation Fellowships in music criticism.