(Classical) Kathleen Ferrier — The Complete EMI Recordings: Mahler — Kindertotenlieder, Gluck — Orfeo ed Euridice, Purcell, Bach, etc. (with Walter, Karajan, Bruck, Moore) — 1944—1951/2012, 3 CDs, FLAC (tracks+.cue) lossless

CD 1 (18 / 60:56)

01. Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice (1997 - Remaster): What is life to me without thee? (Che farò senza Euridice) (Act 3) 4:37
02. Brahms - 6 Lieder Op. 3 (1997 - Remaster): Constancy (Liebestreu) (Reinick) 2:16
03. Brahms - 49 Deutsche Volkslieder (1997 - Remaster): No. 12, Feinsliebchen, du sollst mir nicht barfuss geh'n 2:38
04. Elgar - The Dream of Gerontius Op. 38 (1997 - Remaster): My work is done ... It is because 3:20
05. Greene - I will lay me down in peace (from anthem 'O God of my righteousness') (1997 - Remaster) 3:48
06. Greene - O praise the Lord (from anthem 'Praise the Lord, O my soul') (1997 - Remaster) 1:51
07. Handel - Spring is coming ('Ottone' - Haym) 3:56
08. Handel - Come to me, soothing sleep ('Ottone' - Haym) 4:20
09. Purcell - Sound the trumpet ('Birthday Ode for Queen Mary') Isobel Baillie/Kathleen Ferrier/Gerald Moore 2:04
10. Purcell - Let us wander, not unseen ('The Indian Queen' - Dryden) 1:50

Kathleen Ferrier/Gerald Moore

11. Purcell - Shepperd, shepherd, leave decoying ('King Arthur' - Dryden) 1:23
12. Mendelssohn - I would that my love, Op.63 No. 1 (Heine) 2:49
13. Mendelssohn - Greeting, Op.63 No. 2 (Eichendorff) 2:36

Kathleen Ferrier/Isobel Baillie/Gerald Moore

Mahler - Kindertotenlieder (Rückert) (1998 - Remaster)
14. Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n 4:51
15. Nun seh' ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen 4:39
16. Wenn dein Mütterlein, tritt zur Tür herein 4:31
17. Oft denk' ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen! 2:55
18. In diesem Wetter, in diesem Braus 6:24

Kathleen Ferrier/Wiener Philharmoniker/Bruno Walter

CD 2 (19 / 60:34)

Bach - Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
01. Duet: Christe eleison 3:38
02. Contralto aria: Qui sedes 3:40
03. Duet: Et in unum Dominum 4:18

Herbert Von Karajan/Wiener Symphoniker/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Kathleen Ferrier

04. Contralto Aria: Agnus Dei 5:39

Herbert von Karajan/Wiener Symphoniker/Kathleen Ferrier

Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice (1998 - Remaster)
05. Sinfonia 3:07
06. Ah! Se intorno a quest'urna funesta (Act I) 4:10
07. Amici, quel lamento (Act I) 0:36
08. Ballet of Shepherds and Nymphy (Act I) 2:21
09. Ah! Se intorno a quest'urna funesta (Act I) 3:42
10. Chiamo il mio ben così (Act I) 7:28
11. Voi delle ombre oscura (Act I) 0:58
12. Amore assisterà l'infelice marito! (Act I) 2:53
13. Gli sguardi trattieni (Act I) 2:27
14. Che disse? Che ascoltai? (Act I) 2:10
15. Dance of the Furies - Chi mai dell'Erebo (Act II) 5:50
16. Deh! Placatevi con me (Act II) 2:42
17. Misero giovane! (Act II) 0:52
18. Mille pene, ombre sdegnose (Act II) 0:48
19. Ah! Quale incognito (Act II) 3:08

CD 3 (20 / 68:06)

Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice (1998 - Remaster)
01. Dance of the Blessed Spirits - Dance of the Heroes (Act II) 8:47
02. È quest'asile ameno e grato (Act II) 3:45
03. Che puro ciel! Che chiaro sol! (Act II) 5:32
04. Vien a'regni del riposo (Act II) 2:20
05. Ballet of the Heroes (Act II) 2:31
06. Oh voi, ombre felici (Act II) 0:35
07. Torna, o bello (Act II) 3:17
08. Ah vieni, o diletta, vien con me (Act III) 4:02
09. Vieni! Vieni con me, vieni, o cara! (Act III) 4:28
10. Ah, dovess'io saper (Act III) 1:44
11. Che fiero momento (Act III) 3:45
12. Ah, per me il duol ricomincia (Act III) 2:18
13. Che feci mai? (Act III) 1:16
14. Che farò senza Euridice? (Act III) 4:43
15. Ah! Finisca e per sempre (Act III) 1:19
16. Non più! che fai tu? (Act III) 1:19
17. Gaudio, gaudio son al cuore (Act III) 3:02
18. Trionfi Amore! (Act III) 1:18

Orfeo - Kathleen Ferrier
Euridice - Greet Koeman
Amore - Nel Duval
Chorus & Orchestra of Netherlands Opera conducted by Charles Bruck

19. Mahler - Kindertotenlieder (Rückert): Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n 5:20
20. Mahler - Kindertotenlieder (Rückert): In diesem Wetter, in diesem Braus 6:36

Kathleen Ferrier/Wiener Philharmoniker/Bruno Walter

Kathleen Ferrier (22 April 1912–8 October 1953) remains one of the best-loved British singers of our time. The eminent vocal expert Alan Blyth wrote of her in 1998: ‘Kathleen Ferrier, a legend in her own lifetime, has certainly become one since her untimely death in 1953. Her professional life, lasting little more than a decade, saw her rise from the obscurity of appearing with choirs in the north of England to the eminence of an international career in the company of such conductors as Barbirolli, Walter and Klemperer. It was an extraordinary transformation in every respect, but one wholly justified by the dignity and conviction of her singing and the commitment of her interpretations.’

CD 1 begins with four test recordings of pieces by Gluck, Brahms and Elgar recorded by producer Walter Legge in June 1944 but not issued until 1978. Ferrier signed a one-year contract with EMI in September 1944 and her first commercial release was the two arias by the Baroque composer Maurice Greene that follow. Then come two Handel solos and five duets with soprano Isobel Baillie of compositions by Purcell and Mendelssohn. These completed Ferrier’s EMI contract and she then moved to Decca.

In 1949 Ferrier came back to EMI to record Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder in London with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter, the great Mahlerian who had introduced Ferrier to this work, which closes CD1

CD 2 begins with four items recorded at a rehearsal in June 1950 for a concert of the Bach Mass in B Minor in Vienna with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Karajan. EMI was setting up its recording equipment in the Musikvereinssaal for another project while the rehearsal was taking place and the engineer, as a test, turned on the tape machine to capture, almost complete, these four precious Ferrier tracks, which include two solos and two duets with the soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.

Then comes a complete performance of Ferrier’s signature operatic role, that of Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice by Gluck. This live recording dates from a radio broadcast in July 1951 in Amsterdam.

CD 3 concludes with two bonus tracks; these are reserve takes of the first and the fifth movements of Kindertotenlieder being issued here for the first time. This work was 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.

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Sir Edward Elgar, Christoph W. Gluck, ...
Performer: Kathleen Ferrier, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gerald Moore, Nel Duval, ...
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan, Charles Bruck, Bruno Walter
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Opera Orchestra, Netherlands Opera Chorus, ...

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Reviews: 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.