The Very Best of Kathleen Ferrier Centenary Collection (2012)

1. Interview with Kathleen Ferrier, Montreal - 1950	Kathleen Ferrier	1:50	
2. Blow the Wind Southerly	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		2:16	
3. The Keel Row	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		1:41	
4. Come You Not from Newcastle?	Kathleen Ferrier & Frederick Stone	1:32	
5. Ye Banks and Braes	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		3:08	
6. I Know Where I'm Going	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		2:20	
7. Drink to Me Only	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		3:00	
8. Ma Bonny Lad	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		1:46	
9. Ca' the Yowes	Kathleen Ferrier & John Newmark	3:21
10. Der Musensohn	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		2:13	
11. An die Musik	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		3:03	
12. Have Mercy, Lord ('Erbame dich') (from St. Matthew Passion)	Kathleen Ferrier, National Symphony Orchestra & Malcolm Sargent	8:03
13. O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings (from Messiah)	Kathleen Ferrier, Londor Philharmonic & Adrian Boult	5:33
14. Ombra mai fu (from Xerxes)	Kathleen Ferrier, London Symphony Orchestra & Malcolm Sargent	4:38	
15. Art Thou Troubled? (from Rodelinda)	Kathleen Ferrier, London Symphony Orchestra & Malcolm Sargent	4:36	
16. O Rest in the Lord (from Elijah)	Kathleen Ferrier, Boyd Neel Orchestra & Boyd Neel	3:36
17. Silent Noon	Kathleen Ferrier & Frederick Stone	4:51	
18. Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		2:26	
19. Kitty My Love	Kathleen Ferrier & Frederick Stone	1:16	
20. Down By the Salley Gardens	Kathleen Ferrier & Phyliss Spurr		3:05	
21. Um Mitternacht	Kathleen Ferrier, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra & Bruno Walter	6:22
22. What is Life? ('Che faro') (from Orfeo ed Euridice)	Kathleen Ferrier, London Symphony Orchestra & Malcolm Sargent	4:23

Although her career was tragically short, Kathleen Ferrier was among the most famous English singers of the twentieth century. Her contralto voice -- a rarity in itself -- was characterized by a firm, warm tone that found its expressive niche in the great works of oratorio and art song, as well as in her two operatic roles (only two!): Lucretia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

Born in Lancashire on April 22, 1912, Ferrier studied the piano with great success as a child and intended a concert career; her concurrent vocal studies were considered more recreational in nature. In her mid-20s, however, after taking two first prizes at the 1937 Carlisle Festival -- one for piano and one for singing -- she made the decision to pursue singing as her vocation. She studied with J.E. Hutchinson in Newcastle upon Tyne, then with Roy Henderson in London.

During the years of WWII Ferrier toured widely in England, gaining a reputation as an especially fine concert artist. She joined the Bach Choir in London, and was alto soloist for a 1943 performance of Handel's Messiah at Westminster Abbey. Benjamin Britten first put her on the operatic stage at Glyndebourne on July 12, 1946, in the premiere of his chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia. She then toured with the work throughout England and appeared on an historic recording of major extracts from the work conducted by the composer. Britten would later compose the alto part in his Canticle No. 2 for her.

She appeared in the United States for the first time in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the New York Philharmonic and Bruno Walter; her subsequent recording of the work -- also under Walter's direction -- remains a classic. Walter also appeared as her accompanist in lieder recitals in Edinburgh and London. Another of Ferrier's notable successes was the part of the Angel in Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius.

In February 1953, Covent Garden staged Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice specifically for Ferrier, who was deemed ideal for the part of Orpheus. However, she was able to appear in only two of the scheduled four performances because of weakness caused by her already advanced cancer. These were her last appearances; she died in London on October 8, 1953. Before she died she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. ---Rovi

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