The Complete Songs Vol. 3

'The third volume of Hyperion's Strauss song series comes with a tenor riding the chromatic waves. Kennedy's young voice still has some growing to do in lieder, but his flexible tones and avoidance of the Precious Beautiful Voice give lots of pleasure. Roger Vignoles's piano accompaniments are superb' (The Times)

"Vignoles's playing continues to achieve a maximum of freshness and invention and a chameleon-like closeness to his singer's tone and line. Kennedy's voice is young, sweet, fluent and has what some commentators call "sap". Greater naturalness (and especially inwardness) will come in his live and later performances of this repertoire. In the meantime, a lot of work and study has gone into this disc and the readings attain a consistently high standard of beautiful music-making."
(Gramophone July 2008)

'Andrew Kennedy … gives consistent pleasure with his sweet, sappy tone, free-ringing high notes and keen characterisation. Roger Vignoles's playing is as colourful and eloquent as his booklet notes' (Daily Telegraph)

The third instalment in Hyperion's edition of Lieder by Richard Strauss is the first to employ a male singer and, in tenor Andrew Kennedy, Roger Vignoles has picked one of Britain's finest young singers … A fine achievement and an essential addition to any Straussian's or song-lover's collection. Throughout this disc, as with the previous ones, I was reminded simply of how abundant Strauss's melodic gift was; if in this personal and subjective genre he occasionally let himself get carried away, there's so much fine music that it's difficult not to get swept along' (Musicweb.com)

Hyperion's Strauss Lieder series is fast becoming a worthy successor to the seminal Schubert and Schumann Lieder sets on the label. This third volume features the brilliant young British tenor Andrew Kennedy, whose performances in concert, in operas and on disc have received the highest praise. Hearing Strauss's songs sung by a tenor is a wonderful and rare experience, and brings a different colour to even the most well-known songs on this disc. This recording fills in some of the gaps left by the first two volumes. Together with them it completes the eights songs of Opus 10, the six songs of Opus 19 and the five songs of Schlichte Weisen Op 21.