Of all the many distinguished singers to have made an impact in Great Britain in the last three- quarters of a century it is no exaggeration to say that the most-loved of them all was the great contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Even leaving aside her tragically short life and long spells of illness there was something about her warm, lively personality and lush, rich voice which struck a chord with a wide public many of whom had probably never set foot in the Royal Opera House or any of the country’s great concert halls. The folksongs she sang with such sensitivity were an important part of her repertoire both on record and in concert while her famous unaccompanied recording of Blow The Wind Southerly along with her English language performance of Orfeo’s great lament (What is Life?) from Gluck’s opera were as likely to be heard on popular record request programmes as they were on the BBC’s cultural channel, then known as the Third Programme.
Ferrier’s discography was fairly substantial, if not huge, and we are lucky that her commercial recordings for EMI and Decca have been bolstered, over the years, by a number of live recordings of both opera and song which help to round out her musical profile both as singer and interpreter.
Ferrier became a much sought-after recitalist throughout Europe and in the United States and to bolster the programmes of her recitals she gradually introduced a number of British folksongs which became an integral part of her repertoire, particularly the unaccompanied Blow The Wind Southerly which in time became one her most popular recordings which holds its place in the Decca catalogue to this very day. All the while Ferrier’s health was deteriorating and she was diagnosed as having a particularly aggressive form of cancer which eventually began to affect her bones. Frequent treatment failed to solve the problem and it was only Kathleen’s temperament and inner strength that enabled her to keep going and to continue working despite the pain she was suffering.
The nature of her early passing adds an extra dimension to her many recordings as it is hard to believe that a great artist with such a sense of humour and indomitable spirit could have been taken so soon. Thankfully her supreme artistry and superb true contralto voice live on through the medium of her many recordings. Kathleen Ferrier will never be forgotten.
