Today, a tale of two baritones: Nathan Gunn, an American, and Christian Gerhaher, a German. The former is singing crossover; the latter is singing Schubert.

Oh, how they hate the term “crossover,” classical singers do. It implies that they are applying their classical technique and sensibilities to popular music, and they prefer to think of themselves as utterly natural in whatever they try. Well, maybe. In any case, Mr. Gunn has made an album called “Just Before Sunrise,” for Sony Classical. This is “a collection of romantic and intimate songs of today,” according to the publicity.

Want to know more? “Musically capturing the ‘in-between time’ before sunrise, Nathan Gunn sings the music for life’s special moments … ” Sure, whatever.

Mr. Gunn is a fine and successful baritone, who is somewhat famous for taking his shirt off in opera productions. On the cover of the new album, he has his shirt on, which may throw some people off.

The first song is the title song, “Just Before Sunrise,” by Gene Scheer. Mr. Gunn sings this classically, by which I mean: You know clearly that he is an operatic baritone, or a classical baritone. But he is free of affectation.

Throughout the album, Mr. Gunn shows a beautiful voice — creamy and honeyed. One of his best assets is a lovely little upper register. In general, Mr. Gunn sings these songs sweetly without singing them cloyingly, which isn’t necessarily easy. He uses excellent diction, enabling us to understand all the words — this is no common thing. Occasionally, Mr. Gunn has been guilty of the flats, but not on this album.

There are 15 songs here, of varying quality: Some of them are pleasing; some of them you’d rather slit your throat than hear. The album is infected with the saccharine. And many of the arrangements are hokey — though, to be honest, isn’t that often the case? That arrangements on such albums are hokey?

Mr. Gunn sings a song called “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, and he does so cutely but not cutesily. He gives the song a nifty lilt. And, on “It Feels Like Home,” by John Bucchino, he is joined by Kristin Chenoweth, the Broadway star. She sings nasally but effectively. The song is upbeat, jazzy, and fun, and so is the performance.

If you are at all a follower of the King’s Singers — the British a cappella group — you know “And So It Goes.” And if you are a follower of Billy Joel, you know it, too, because he wrote it. In America, it is a signature song for the King’s Singers. They perform a marvelous arrangement, leaving an audience almost numbly moved with it.

The arrangement Mr. Gunn uses is not so laudable — a squeezebox, I believe. And I believe he sings the song with a slight stiffness. But he is perfectly entitled to his approach.

There are three songs here by Ben Moore, a youngish American composer whom Deborah Voigt, the soprano, also champions. Two of these songs set texts by James Joyce, and one of them sets Yeats. Are they classical art songs or are they pop songs? In my view, they occupy some ground in between. In any case, they are simple and sincere, and Mr. Gunn gives them their due.

I must say, this album is not for me, although I admire its singing, and some of its songs. Might it be for you? Just possibly.

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For pretty much everyone will be Christian Gerhaher’s album of Schubert (RCA Red Seal).There are 17 songs on this disc, some of them quite famous — “Der Musensohn,” “Du bist die Ruh” — some of them off the beaten track. There’s not a loser in the bunch, as you may well imagine.

Mr. Gerhaher is a robust singer, but also a smooth one. The weight of his voice is almost ideal – not too heavy, not too light. Like Mr. Gunn, he uses very clear diction, with not a syllable lost (nor overemphasized). And his technique in general is rock-solid, allowing him — and you — to concentrate on the music.

Most gratifyingly, Mr. Gerhaher sings Schubert’s songs as songs, not as intellectual exercises. He doesn’t tiptoe around these songs, reverently; he just sings them, as though they were songs. There is not an ounce of preciousness on this CD. I can’t stress enough how refreshing this is.

Partnering Mr. Gerhaher is a German pianist, Gerold Huber. Like his singer, he is straightforward, unaffected, and refreshing. His playing is balanced, in every sense. He is propulsive and exciting in fast songs — “Auf der Bruck” — and he is thoroughly sensible and convincing in slower ones (for instance, “Das Zügenglöcklein”). He has the unpurchasable quality of taste, and so does his baritone. They have performed and recorded together all career long — and such partnerships produce benefits.

I’d like to cite one song — one further song — in particular. It’s a not very common one, called “Alinde.” I found that I could hardly stop listening to it. It is not just ingratiating, but well-nigh hypnotizing. Both singer and pianist judge it with enviable shrewdness.

All in all, you feel in the company of both intelligence and musicality when you listen to this album. And let’s not forget the intelligence and musicality of young Franz Schubert himself! Funny how, the older you get, the more obvious his genius becomes. And often that genius is an unassuming one.

Also, it’s gratifying to know that you can welcome another Schubert lieder CD. You may think that the world can’t stand another one. And then a team such as Gerhaher-Huber comes along.