Notes and Editorial Reviews
Kathleen Ferrier’s recording career with EMI was relatively
brief in an already too brief career. Although he was delighted
at having signed her up, Walter Legge’s dictatorial manner
repelled her and she soon defected to Decca, for whom, by and
large, she made the best of her recordings in terms of both
quality and sound.
Nonetheless, there are gems here: not least her early microphone
testing sessions for Legge, the invaluable Kindertotenlieder
for her mentor Bruno Walter and a complete recording of her
signature role, Gluck’s
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Orfeo, in Amsterdam in
1951. The latter is an egregious example of where an EMI version
easily tops the Decca: the 1947 recording, made under the inflexible
Stiedry before Ferrier had refined and deepened her interpretation
on stage, is both abridged and inferior in almost every way
to this one. Conversely, the Bach excerpts, recorded almost
by accident during rehearsals with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf under
Karajan, are nowhere near as satisfying as the studio recordings
made for Decca with Sir Adrian Boult. Ardent collectors will
want to own the complete sets from both houses.
There is a theory that part of Ferrier’s extraordinary
quality of sound derives from the fact that she was in a sense
a true original, never having been schooled to acquire a “conservatory
sound”. However, to my ears, she is simply the natural
successor in a line of traditional British contraltos now virtually
extinct. The nearest we have heard post-war is another great
British singer, Janet Baker. She would surely admit to possessing
a somewhat lighter voice with a timbre and colouring more mezzo-soprano
than true contralto. Even so, there is considerable overlap
in the Fach, bearing in mind that Verdi expected his contraltos
to have a top B, as indeed did the stentorian British contralto
Dame Clara Butt. Both Baker and Ferrier excelled as Gluck’s
Orfeo and in Brahms’Vier ernste Gesänge.
Whereas Baker had more of an upper extension and was never going
to attempt Fricka or Waltraute, it is possible to speculate
that Ferrier could have gone on to sing some of the great Wagner
roles had she lived beyond the age of 41.
Certainly the richness of her oboe sound, with its amplitude
and unobtrusive, flickering vibrato, inspired an affection and
emotional response in listeners which endure to this day. This
despite the fact Ferrier had a professional career spanning
little more than a decade.
The earliest items here are those tests made by Legge in 1944
which remained unissued until 1978. They comprise pieces by
Gluck, Brahms and Elgar. Although beautifully sung, the English
translation of Che farò has, understandably, given
the time when and the conditions under which it was made, a
rather placid, oratorio-like quality. The aria is utterly transformed
by the time we come to the complete, live performance in 1951.
Particularly valuable is the aria from The Dream of Gerontius,
sung grandly to only piano accompaniment, as she never recorded
a role which was surely ideal suited to her sonorous, plangent
alto.
She signed a one year contract with Legge and her first commercial
releases were the two stately arias by Maurice Greene, two sterling
Handel solos and five delightful duets from Purcell and Mendelssohn
with Isobel Baillie. She then left for Decca, returning to EMI
to record Kindertotenlieder with Walter in 1949. The
bonus tracks here are previously unreleased back-up takes. Interestingly,
the notes tell us that these were “originally recorded
on 12-inch waxes, with a tape machine running as safety back-up,
as was EMI s practice in 1949. Masters from the waxes were used
for most of the original 78-rpm sides, but for the release of
the work on CD, the back-up tapes were used, and these reserve
takes have also survived.”
Moving on to 1951, Ferrier’s Orfeo is a tour
de force: the sinews of her Italian have by this stage of
her career hardened and she is able to fine down her ample tone
to enhance the pathos of her appeal to the Furies. The first
cries of “Euridice” send the message that here is
a voice of depth and tenderness. Her soft singing, command of
portamento and affecting messa di voce all add
greatly to the drama of Euridice’s second death and the
subsequent celebrated lament. Sadly, no other singer on stage
- neither the two other soloists, nor the enthusiastic and expressive
chorus afflicted with the curse of the wobbly soprano - is remotely
in her league. The Amore is nasal and tweety but adequate; Euridice
is gusty and tremulous. The opening of the Elysian Fields scene
is especially unpromising, with ill-tuned strings, the chorus
slipping out of synch with the orchestra and Euridice twittering
unsteadily. Things soon look up with a lovely, rapt, absolutely
steady Che puro ciel! from Ferrier. Bruck skilfully brings
out the delicate orchestration to heighten the serene mood.
As further compensation, the sound derived from the painstakingly
restored original tapes is very acceptable. The voices are very
present. There are very few coughs and even though the orchestral
sound is muddy, it is clear that Bruck conducts sensitively.
He is always alive to Gluck’s colouring and paces proceedings
aptly, unlike Stiedry’s undue haste. In particular, he
gets the tempo just right for Che farò.
The version sung is a kind of back-formation of Berlioz’s
orchestration sung in Italian, standard before an amalgam of
the Vienna and Paris editions became the norm. A modern listener
will find it somewhat truncated.
The other major item here is the Mahler song cycle with Walter.
Many collectors will already be familiar with their famous Das
Lied von der Erde. The conductor was a huge admirer of the
singer and that respect was reciprocated. Again we notice how
Ferrier’s linguistic command has matured under Walter’s
tutelage and the interpretations themselves are mesmerising.
Her dark voice and Walter’s authentic Mahlerian sensibility
make a perfect marriage. The playing of the VPO is wonderfully
warm and impassioned. This remains a classic account and every
lover of these elegies should know it.
The two previously unreleased bonus tracks reveal the consistency
of Ferrier’s instrument; perhaps one or two slight rhythmic
slips and a desire to fill out her tone more fully at one or
two climaxes and apply more emotional weight in places such
as the opening of In diesem Wetter prompted the desire
to re-take but any imperfections are hardly perceptible.
No texts are supplied but there is an informative essay by Warwick
Thompson and three rare publicity photographs from the EMI vaults.
These were made when Ferrier first signed a contract with HMV/Columbia.
-- Ralph Moore, MusicWeb International Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Mass in B minor, BWV 232: Agnus Dei by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Conductor:
Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: 1747-1749; Leipzig, Germany
Date of Recording: 06/15/1950
Venue: Great Hall, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
Length: 5 Minutes 30 Secs.
Language: Latin
2.
Mass in B minor, BWV 232: Christe eleison by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Soprano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Conductor:
Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: 1747-1749; Leipzig, Germany
Date of Recording: 06/15/1950
Venue: Great Hall, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
Length: 3 Minutes 35 Secs.
Language: Latin
3.
Mass in B minor, BWV 232: Qui sedes by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Conductor:
Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: 1747-1749; Leipzig, Germany
Date of Recording: 06/15/1950
Venue: Great Hall, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
Length: 3 Minutes 35 Secs.
Language: Latin
4.
Mass in B minor, BWV 232: Et in unum Dominum by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto),
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Soprano)
Conductor:
Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Period: Baroque
Written: 1747-1749; Leipzig, Germany
Date of Recording: 06/15/1950
Venue: Great Hall, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
Length: 4 Minutes 16 Secs.
Language: Latin
5.
Songs (6), Op. 3: no 1, Liebestreu by Johannes Brahms
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto),
Gerald Moore (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1853; Germany
Date of Recording: 09/30/1944
8.
Orfeo ed Euridice: Che farò senza Euridice? by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Conductor:
Charles Bruck
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Netherlands Opera Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1762/1774; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 01/1951
Venue: Municipal Theater, Amsterdam
Length: 6 Minutes 1 Secs.
Language: Italian
9.
Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer:
Nel Duval (Soprano),
Greet Koeman (Soprano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Charles Bruck
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Netherlands Opera Chorus,
Netherlands Opera Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1762/1774; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 01/1951
Venue: Live Municipal Theater, Amsterdam
10.
O praise the Lord, ye that fear him by Maurice Greene
Performer:
Gerald Moore (Piano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Period: Baroque
Written: England
Date of Recording: 09/30/1944
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London
Length: 1 Minutes 48 Secs.
Language: English
11.
O God of my righteousness "I will lay me down in peace" by Maurice Greene
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto),
Gerald Moore (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1743
Date of Recording: 09/30/1944
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London
Length: 3 Minutes 47 Secs.
Language: English
12.
Ottone, HWV 15: La speranza è giunta in porto by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Gerald Moore (Piano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1723; London, England
Date of Recording: 04/20/1945
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London
Length: 3 Minutes 52 Secs.
Language: English
13.
Ottone, HWV 15: Vieni, o figlio, e mi consola by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto),
Gerald Moore (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1723; London, England
Date of Recording: 04/20/1945
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London
Length: 4 Minutes 16 Secs.
Language: English
14.
Kindertotenlieder by Gustav Mahler
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Conductor:
Bruno Walter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901-1904; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 10/04/1949
Venue: Kingsway Hall, London, England
Length: 23 Minutes 20 Secs.
Language: German
15.
Kindertotenlieder: Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n by Gustav Mahler
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Conductor:
Bruno Walter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901-1904; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 10/04/1949
Venue: Kingsway Hall, London, England
Notes: Alternate take.
16.
Kindertotenlieder: In diesem wetter, in diesem braus by Gustav Mahler
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Conductor:
Bruno Walter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901-1904; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 10/04/1949
Venue: Kingsway Hall, London, England
Notes: Alternate take.
17.
Duets (6), Op. 63: no 1, Ich wollt' meine Lieb' by Felix Mendelssohn
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto),
Isobel Baillie (Soprano),
Gerald Moore (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1836; Germany
Date of Recording: 09/21/1945
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London
Length: 2 Minutes 45 Secs.
Language: English
18.
Duets (6), Op. 63: no 3, Gruss by Felix Mendelssohn
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto),
Isobel Baillie (Soprano),
Gerald Moore (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1844; Germany
Date of Recording: 09/21/1945
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London
Length: 2 Minutes 30 Secs.
Language: English
19.
Sound the trumpet, Z 335 by Henry Purcell
Performer:
Isobel Baillie (Soprano),
Gerald Moore (Piano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1687; England
Date of Recording: 09/21/1945
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London
Length: 2 Minutes 2 Secs.
Language: English
20.
Indian Queen, Z 630: Let us wander not unseen by Henry Purcell
Performer:
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto),
Isobel Baillie (Soprano),
Gerald Moore (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1695; England
Date of Recording: 09/21/1945
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London
Length: 1 Minutes 46 Secs.
Language: English
21.
King Arthur, or The British Worthy, Z 628: Shepherd leave by Henry Purcell
Performer:
Gerald Moore (Piano),
Isobel Baillie (Soprano),
Kathleen Ferrier (Alto)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1691; England
Date of Recording: 09/21/1945
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London
Length: 1 Minutes 20 Secs.
Language: English
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