From entering a competition as a bet, Kathleen Ferrier became one of Britain\u2019s foremost singers in the mid-20th century. Fiona Clampin takes a look at her life and asks why, since Ferrier’s death, have contraltos fallen out of fashion? <\/p>
Kathleen Ferrier made such an impact that contraltos and mezzo-sopranos who have come along since have often found themselves compared to her.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018I had a naturally very dark voice,\u2019 says Irish mezzo Patricia Bardon, \u2018and when I came in to audition for my singing teacher in the late 1970s [Veronica Dunne, who sang with Ferrier], she said this was Kathleen Ferrier reincarnated.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n So defining were her interpretations, so magnetic her personality, that for many Ferrier remains Britain\u2019s greatest contralto<\/a><\/strong>. That she became a singer almost by accident makes her success even more remarkable. Teaching piano and accompanying choirs in Cumbria, she entered a local music competition in 1937 and won both piano and vocal categories. And yet she had only entered the vocal class after a bet with her husband.<\/span><\/p>\n Concert engagements followed, and good words from people such as Sir Malcolm Sargent helped secure her a contract with the agency Ibbs and Tillett in 1942. For ten years, she enjoyed an international career, fostering artistic relationships with Britten<\/a><\/strong>, Bruno Walter and Sir John Barbirolli. Her voice could be heard on the BBC\u2019s Light Programme and the Home Service, and as such Ferrier endeared herself to huge numbers of people.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2018She seemed to be able to communicate very directly with her audience,\u2019 says mezzo Catherine Wyn-Rogers, whose parents had a record player reserved for The Beatles, Verdi<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s La traviata<\/i> and Ferrier. <\/span><\/p>\n \u2018The hugely respected conductors who paid tribute to her remarked on her depth of emotion and spirituality. This is from people who stood right next to her on a stage and saw first-hand how she was able to communicate. In an increasingly secular world, the radiance and commitment Ferrier brought to oratorio<\/a><\/strong> and other sacred music are a real inspiration.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n Ferrier\u2019s repertoire was not huge. In opera, she gave the premiere of Britten\u2019s Rape of Lucretia<\/i> and performed only one other operatic work \u2013 Gluck<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Orfeo<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span>She recorded Lieder<\/a><\/strong> by Schumann<\/a><\/strong> and Brahms<\/a><\/strong>, as well as English folk songs<\/a>.<\/strong> She excelled in oratorio, giving compelling performances of pieces such as Bach\u2019s St Matthew Passion<\/i><\/a><\/strong> and Elgar\u2019s Dream of Gerontius<\/i><\/a><\/strong>. And with Bruno Walter she helped to put Mahler<\/a><\/strong> on the map with her interpretations of his song cycles. As a consequence, for the generations of singers who have come after Ferrier, approaching certain repertoire can pose quite a challenge.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat was so special about Kathleen Ferrier?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
What did Kathleen Ferrier sing?<\/h2>\n