Toad Lane Concerts: Louise Taylor soprano and Daniel Bath piano

Daniel Bath and Louise Taylor

The audience at St Mary in the Baum was treated to its own ‘variety show’ by two supremely talented local artists on Wednesday 30 March.

Soprano Louise Taylor began singing solo at the age of 24. Since then, she has performed over 30 lead roles in light opera and musicals, sung the soprano solos in various oratorio and had great fun fronting a dance band. She fitted all this in while enjoying a 40-year career in newspaper and magazine journalism, most recently as editor of Cheshire Life for 11 years until 2020. She is also a chorister at Salford Cathedral.

Louise lives in Saddleworth with her husband, Paul, and they have two grown-up sons and a baby granddaughter.

The programme opened with sacred pieces, On Wings of Song by Mendelssohn, I Know That My Redeemer Liveth by Handel, and Pie Jesu by Faure, all simply and beautifully sung. These were contrasted by delightful, characterful arias by Mozart and Puccini.

Then came a move into the world of musicals with What's the Use of Wond'rin' and If I Loved You by Rodgers and Hammerstein, concluding in a joyful Cole Porter medley.

Louise was ably accompanied by musical director of Salford Cathedral, Daniel Bath, who also played two Impromptus by Schubert with considerable rhythmic panache. The first of these was at an impressive, blistering speed, the second with further fluency and drama. Daniel read music at Clare College, Cambridge, studying piano and developing a fascination for ethnomusicology. Since moving to Todmorden in 1997, Daniel has become immersed in the musical and educational life of the Calder Valley.

We are indeed fortunate to have local musicians of this calibre who provided a fitting end to a packed and varied programme in March.

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.

Dr Joe Dawson