Notes and Editorial Reviews
SOMM RECORDINGS’ acclaimed series of re-mastered recitals by the much loved, fondly remembered contralto Kathleen Ferrier continues with Kathleen Ferrier: 20th Century British Treasures. Featuring recordings made for Decca and the BBC between 1946 and 1953, it includes a previously unpublished recording of Ferrier’s passionate performance of Lennox Berkeley’s Four Poems of St Teresa of Ávila. Sir Thomas Allen, the distinguished interpreter of British song and Trustee of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, contributes an extensive booklet commentary that brings a lifetime’s experience to bear in an insightful analysis of Ferrier’s dexterous and treasured talent, accented by the distinctive tones of her native Lancashire. The earliest
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recording, from 1947, is of Benjamin Britten’s ‘The Flower Song’ from The Rape of Lucretia, the latest, from 1953 (both BBC recitals), includes Howard Ferguson’s lovely five-part Discovery, three songs by William Wordsworth and Edmund Rubbra’s Three Psalms, specially written for Ferrier. Pieces by defining proponents of British song including Parry, Stanford, Vaughan Williams, Roger Quilter, Frank Bridge and Peter Warlock complete a crucial celebration of Ferrier’s inimitable contribution to the genre. Pianist Julian Jacobson, son of composer Maurice Jacobson, whose melancholy but sensuous The Song of Songs is heard in a 1947 BBC broadcast, also provides a personal poignant note on Ferrier’s championing of his father’s music. Read less
Works on This Recording
5.
House of life: no 2, Silent Noon by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto),
Frederick Stone (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1903; England
8.
La Belle Dame sans Merci by Charles Villiers Stanford
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto),
Phyllis Spurr (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1877; England
9.
Go not, happy day, H 34 by Frank Bridge
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto),
Frederick Stone (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1916; England
10.
Sleep by Peter Warlock
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto),
Frederick Stone (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1922; England
11.
Pretty ring time by Peter Warlock
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto),
Frederick Stone (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1925; England
12.
The Song of Songs by Maurice Jacobson
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto),
Phyllis Spurr (Piano)
13.
Psalms (3), Op. 61 by Edmund Rubbra
Performer:
Ernest Lush (Piano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto)
Period: 20th Century
14.
Red skies by William (Brocklesby) Wordsworth
Performer:
Ernest Lush (Piano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto)
15.
Wind by William (Brocklesby) Wordsworth
Performer:
Ernest Lush (Piano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto)
16.
Clouds by William (Brocklesby) Wordsworth
Performer:
Ernest Lush (Piano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto)
17.
Discovery, Op. 13 by Howard Ferguson
Performer:
Ernest Lush (Piano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1951
19.
Poems (4) of St. Teresa of Avilla, Op. 27 by Lennox Berkeley
Performer:
Ernest Lush (Piano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Contralto)
Conductor:
Hugo Rignold
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1947; England
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