Many of these songs and ballads have a rough sound upon first hearing, but closer attention shows that a gruff voice is appropriate for the characters being portrayed -- an old warrior who rarely prayed, but who now prays for his dying daughter; the poet Goethe in old age; a Count Eberstein who finds out, while dancing with the Emperor's daughter, that his castle is going to be ambushed by the Emperor (all told with a whirling dance tune!); an imprisoned old admiral languishing in a cell far from the sea; the warrior King Frederick calling his men to arms. These first several ballads have a powerful sound, and Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau brings out their drama with his characteristically dramatic approach to lieder singing.