By JEREMY EICHLER

With clever programming the baritone Thomas Meglioranza began both halves of his Tuesday night recital with the same four lines of text from Joseph von Eichendorff's ''In der Fremde'' (''In a Foreign Land''). First there was the somberly beautiful opening of Schumann's Opus 39 ''Liederkreis.'' The second was as a musical memory of the first, composed by Hanns Eisler as part of his ''Hollywood Songbook.'' For Schumann the text suggested the inner exile of a soul in winter; for Eisler, who sets the words above a jabbing piano line, exile in Los Angeles in the 1940's was very real and aching.

The thoughtful linkage was one of many pleasures in this Weill Recital Hall debut. Mr. Meglioranza, a 2002 Concert Artists Guild winner, may be young, but he already possesses a clear and warmly burnished voice. Accompanied (somewhat dryly) by the pianist Hsi-Ling Chang, he excelled in the song recital format, bringing to each piece a character and presence all its own. His phrasing was fluid and his diction exemplary in the Schumann and in the six Eisler songs.

Debussy's ''Fêtes Galantes'' was on the heavy side, but it worked as a prelude to ''Plundered Hearts,'' a pair of new songs written for Mr. Meglioranza by the composer Jorge Martín, based on poems by J. D. McClatchy, which were unfortunately not reprinted in the program. The appealingly spare ''Pibroch'' was preceded by the striking ''Fado,'' which used turbulent piano writing and dramatic melismas to capture the expressiveness of the eponymous Portuguese song style without resorting to mimicry. Rounding out the program were two witty songs by Marc Blitzstein, breezily delivered with charm to spare.

Published: 04 - 21 - 2003 , Late Edition - Final , Section E , Column 1 , Page 3