Toad Lane Concerts: Tim Kennedy tenor Catherine Hall-Smith piano

Tim Kennedy and Catherine Hall-Smith

Two first-rate versatile freelance musicians entertained the Music at Lunchtime patrons splendidly at St Mary in the Baum on Wednesday 2 March.

Tim Kennedy began his musical career singing for the Queen, as a treble at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, before becoming a music scholar at Winchester College and then organ scholar at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He has now been based in Manchester for more than fifteen years pursuing a multi-faceted career not only as a tenor soloist but also a gifted pianist (including being a staff accompanist at the RNCM), and organist: he was organ scholar at both Manchester and Chester Cathedrals and holds the Fellowship diploma of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO).

His accompanist was Catherine Hall-Smith who studied piano at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and postgraduate at the RNCM, where she has worked as an accompanist since 2015 as well as being a teacher, coach, accompanist and examiner.

Tim’s programme was thoughtfully devised and delivered in captivating style, his lyrical tenor voice soaring effortlessly and beautifully in the church acoustics.

The first set declared his interest in English settings with gems such as Dunhill’s 'The Cloths of Heaven', Britten’s arrangement of 'The Salley Gardens', and songs by Ivor Gurney.

In contrast we had an extract from Viennese operetta by the Hungarian composer, Kálmán, with shades of Richard Tauber.

Then a rare performance of the haunting song 'It is not dawn until you awake' by Frederick Septimus Kelly, one of the promising young composers who were casualties of the Somme. National songs such as 'Ellan Vannin' (lit. Isle of Man), the 'North American Red River Valley', which was sung unaccompanied to great effect, and the 'Irish Rose of Tralee' led to songs from the shows culminating in 'Somewhere over the Rainbow'. A hugely enjoyable and varied recital.

The award-winning Toad Lane Concerts are every Wednesday at 12.30pm at St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane, Rochdale, OL16 1DZ. Entrance fee is £6. No refreshments available now, but the venue is Covid-19 compliant. Contact 01706 648872 for further information.

To see the March 2022 programme, click here.

Dr Joe Dawson