Signum Classics (SIGCD112)
Released in January 2008

Press reaction:
“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.”
Anna Picard, The Independent

"Kennedy's young tenor sounds utterly at ease in this CD of Housman settings by Vaughan Williams, Ivor Gurney and Ian Venables ... his musicianship is appealing, and the Dante Quartet accompany with gusto."
Geoff Brown, The Times

"Venables' songs are sharply responsive to the weight and meaning of every word, and his style ... around Kennedy's voice like a glove ... The tenor handles the texts superbly, making every word perfectly clear."
The Guardian

"Kennedy produces enough vocal strength and projection and in the whole cycle finds variety of colour and volume to differentiate among the seven songs ... His singing of 'Bredon Hill' is clear and fresh until he almost imperceptibly deadens his tone as he tells of the loved one's funeral: a fine performance, well supported, as elsewhere by Simon Crawford-Phillips and the Dante Quartet ... Venables's music is fierce, punching the air, and Kennedy rises to the heightened tension and wide-ranging vocal line. This is a powerful cycle, worth hearing. All the participants respond well to its requirements, as they do to the Vaughan Williams and Gurney songs."
John T. Hughes, International Record Review

Listening to On Wenlock Edge Click on the link below to hear Andrew Kennedy singing On Wenlock Edge on Signum Classics: Click on the link below to hear Ludlow Fair from Ludlow and Teme by Ivor Gurney:

“Tenor Andrew Kennedy’s first solo album is this thoughtful examination of the music of Peter Warlock….The centrepiece is the haunting 1920 Yeats cycle The Curlew, in which Kennedy uses whispered half-tones to create a sense of unearthly mystery, while the Pavao Quartet together with flautist Andrew Pailthorpe and cor anglais player Owen Dennis spin eerie sounds around him. Elsewhere, with pianist Simon Lepper, Kennedy gives beautiful performances of Bethlehem Down and The Night.”
Tim Ashley, The Guardian

“Andrew Kennedy is a singer with fine powers of definition, whether of notes or words”
John Steane, Gramaphone Magazine

“In both of these works Andrew Kennedy shows an absorption, and an ability to hone in on the details that matter without sacrificing the sense of the longer line, that often feels just right. His sweet English tenor voice can soar enticingly, but also has a strong, dark lower register – first shown to advantage at the start of ‘Autumn Twilight’ and drawn out to great advantage in The Curlew...The sound is…very good, as are the accompanists. Balance is excellent in The Curlew.”
Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine

Listening to The Curlew Click on the link below to hear Andrew Kennedy singing The lover mourns for the loss of love from The Curlew on Landor Records: Click on the link below to hear Bethlehem Down by Peter Warlock:

Recital including On Wenlock Edge / Gregynog Festival
"Kennedy's perfect diction allowed Housman's words to communicate potently...Kennedy complemented with subtle vocal colours. He set the seal on a rewarding evening with his encore, Warlock's Sleep, magically delivered."
Rian Evans, The Guardian , June 2008

Captain Vere in Britten’s Billy Budd
Houston Grand Opera / Cond. Patrick Summers / dir. Neil Armfield
“Vere was tenor Andrew Kennedy. In the first moments of the prologue…he hinted at that unique beauty of the late tenor Peter Peers, who originated the role. Kennedy relaxed into a less otherworldly sound which he employed effectively in expressing the urgency of Vere's moral dilemma.”
Charles Ward, Houston Chronicle , April 2008

Elgar The Fourth of August from The Spirit of England
Last Night of the BBC Proms
“…a moving vignette from the First World War…magnificently sung by the tenor Andrew Kennedy.”
Hilary Finch, The Times , September 2007

“A rare performance of The Fourth of August from Elgar’s Spirit of England drew passionate singing from the tenor Andrew Kennedy…”
Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph , September 2007

Britten Serenade for tenor, horn and strings
BBC National Orchestra of Wales / cond. Tadaaki Otaka
“Andrew Kennedy captured the music's more austere, often eerie, atmosphere. Kennedy is already gaining a reputation for his Britten: the articulation is impeccable, and he colours the high phrases without any strain. He … brought an almost operatic drama to the brief but pungent Elegy and a lovely fleetness to the hunting images of the Hymn.”
Rian Evans, The Guardian , June 2007

Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress
La Monnaie / cond. Kazushi Ono / dir. Robert Lepage
“The young English tenor Andrew Kennedy, in the demanding title role, continues to display refined musical accomplishments, which made his mad scene especially moving…There is tremendous promise here.”
Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times , April 2007

“Andrew Kennedy’s Tom is magically phrased”
Francis Carlin, Financial Times , April 2007

Britten Les Illuminations at Edinburgh International Festival
Scottish Ensemble / cond. Jonathan Morton
“Tenor Andrew Kennedy displayed more pent-up energy than your average Festival performer, bounding on stage for his deeply coloured interpretation of Britten's Les Illuminations. It was just what Britten's settings of Rimbaud's Symbolist poems needed, startlingly varied as they are, this tenor effervescing through a carnival of imagery and orchestration, alone holding, as he repeatedly tells us, "the key to this savage parade."
Sarah Jones, Scotland on Sunday , August 2006

“In what was surely one of the most stunning recitals so far in this year's Bank of Scotland Queen's Hall series, the Scottish Ensemble were joined by tenor Andrew Kennedy and mezzo soprano Jane Irwin. In 'Les Illuminations', Kennedy's effusive, near-operatic approach was animated enough to characterise the iridescent colourings and moods inspired by Rimbaud's eccentric, often enigmatic text, but never so much that Britten's mellifluous clarity was fudged.“
Kenneth Walton, The Scotsman , August 2006

“Andrew Kennedy's expressive reading of 'Les Illuminations' was compelling. The tenor was effortlessly persuasive.”
Keith Bruce, Glasgow Herald , August 2006

Britten's Variations for tenor, horn and strings
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at City Hall, Glasgow / cond. Stefan Solyom
"Stefan Solyom directed a poised and atmospheric account of Britten's Variations for tenor, horn and strings, with Andrew Kennedy a supple and light-voiced singer (with tons of hidden reserve)."
Michael Tumelty, The Herald , May 2006

Title role in Handel’s Judas Maccabeus , London Handel Festival
Cond. Laurence Cummings
"Thank goodness for the ever more muscular tenor of Andrew Kennedy, whose stature in the title role increased apace throughout this long evening."
Hilary Finch, The Times , April 2006

"Andrew Kennedy delivered the title role with fine heroic style."
Barry Millington, Evening Standard , March 2006

Fenton in Vaughan Williams Sir John in Love
English National Opera / cond. Oleg Caetani / dir. Ian Judge
“Andrew Kennedy shone as the ardent Fenton.”
Fiona Maddocks, The Evening Standard , March 2006

“Anne and Fenton are played by Sarah Fox and Andrew Kennedy, who sound glorious in their scenes together.”
Tim Ashley, The Guardian , March 2006

Rosenblatt recital, St John’s, Smith Square
"Andrew Kennedy's programme was musically two or three cuts above the norm for these concerts. It even included Britten's Michelangelo Sonnets and, still more remarkable, the rarely performed eight songs Op.57 of Brahms. With Simon Crawford-Phillips as his accomplished pianist, Kennedy gave fine performances, as befits a winner of the Cardiff International Competition's prize for Lieder. The resonance and power of the voice were exciting: a good voice indeed and a well-managed art."
John Steane, Opera Now , March/April 2006

Recital in the English Song Festival, Tardebrigge
“One of the most exciting young voices to emerge on the British musical scene in recent years is that of tenor Andrew Kennedy. Kennedy is a performer of impeccable precision and exquisite finesse.”
Roderic Dunnet, Music and Vision , September 2005