Album: Vaughan Williams

On Wenlock Edge Andrew Kennedy (Signum)

Though 2008 is set to be the year we reassess Vaughan Williams as a symphonist, Andrew Kennedy's beautiful recording of the song cycle 'On Wenlock Edge' should not be neglected. Kennedy has a big, bright, expressive tenor voice and uses it with fervour, delicacy and imagination. Accompanied by pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips and the Dante Quartet, he emphasises the tragedy and tenderness in the poems. Ivor Gurney's wistful 'Ludlow and Theme', written after the composer's first nervous collapse, is given a similarly powerful reading, as is Ian Venables's 'Songs of Eternity and Sorrow'. A thoughtfully realised recital.

Download this: Kennedy's rich reading of Gurney's 'The Lent Lily'