The Edmund Rubbra and William Wordsworth songs on this album come from Kathleen Ferrier's last recording, made in 1953, the final year of her life.
Performer Biography
Kathleen Ferrier, the contralto on this album, is still adored by the public 67 years after her death.
Composition History
Benjamin Britten's opera The Rape of Lucretia was designed for Kathleen Ferrier as much as for Glyndebourne in 1946, with the Flower Song specifically written to showcase the lower part of her voice.
Interpretation
Kathleen Ferrier was noted for her ability to easily use the upper part of her voice, sometimes achieving a lighter soprano quality, and for her ravishing diminuendos.
Composition History
Edmund Rubbra's Three Psalms, Op. 61, were written for Kathleen Ferrier in 1947, reflecting Rubbra's deepening religious faith after World War II.
Composition History
Maurice Jacobson's The Song of Songs was likely composed with Kathleen Ferrier's voice in mind, as Jacobson knew her well and was involved in her coaching.
Recording & Production
This album includes a previously unpublished recording of Lennox Berkeley's Four Poems of St Teresa of Ávila from a BBC broadcast in April 1952.
Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 - Schubert: Lachen und Weinen, Op. 59 No. 4, D. 777, Im Fruhling, Op. 101 No. 1, D. 882, Du bist die Ruh, Op. 59 No. 3, D. 776 & Gretchen am Spinnrade, Op. 2 D. 118 - Wolf: Morike Lieder
