[1] Mehldau's playing often encompassed classical music, while Fleming was interested in being a jazz vocalist from her time at college.

[2] Rainer Maria Rilke wrote the poems collected in The Book of Hours around the turn of the twentieth century.

[4] Mehldau's "settings capture the sense of Rilke's spiritual solitude and existential dread, transfixing the poet's struggle with belief in a steely light that illuminates his final declaration of faith as clearly as his doubts and fears.

"[4] There are some links between the lyrical content and the music: "In 'Tears in Sleep', for example, the vocal line slides over slippery harmonies, suggesting dreamy restlessness.

"[6] Gramophone asserted that "Fleming sings with plush tone and deep feeling, often sacrificing textual clarity in the process, and her swoops and swoons help bring out the connections to jazz.