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Presto News - 23rd April 2012Kathleen Ferrier |
 One of my all-time heroines would have been 100 years old yesterday, were it not for her untimely death at the age of just 41 – and what a redoubtable centenarian ‘Klever Kaff’ (as the great Lancashire-born contralto ironically styled herself) would surely have been! To mark the anniversary, we have commemorative boxed sets from Decca (the label with which she was most closely associated) and from EMI, where she made some notable early recordings and returned for her iconic 1949 account of Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder.  Kathleen Ferrier When we first cracked the boxes open, there was much debate in the Presto office about exactly what it is makes the voice so immediately recognisable and, to modern ears, so quaintly antediluvian – the first suggestion was the simple fact of being a bona fide contralto rather than a mezzo. Certainly the true contralto voice is a rarity, perhaps even more so now than in Ferrier’s day, but I’d argue that reports of its death have been exaggerated: Sonia Prina, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Nathalie Stutzmann and Ewa Podles are just a few of the singers currently flying the flag for the lower-voiced ladies. But Ferrier’s serene, ‘eternal feminine’ tone quality has little in common with the current crop. Unlike many modern contraltos, there’s nothing androgynous or butch about her timbre (even in the trouser-role of Orfeo she exudes mellow womanliness), nor does she display the matriarchal chutzpah of Podles or the bosomy sensuality of Lemieux (Britten wrote The Rape of Lucretia for her because, as he charmingly phrased it, he ‘couldn’t have a sexy dame’ in the title role!). There’s also the speed of vibrato, which is far faster and more constant than one usually hears today, and the consistent beauty of tone: Ferrier never went in for the extremes of colour, dramatic gear shifts or even flirtations with tonal ugliness that many modern singers of all voice types employ, yet somehow her unselfconscious immersion in text and music made every performance unique and involving. A late bloomer who only sang professionally for just over a decade, it’s astonishing that Ferrier managed to commit such a range of repertoire to disc, but also impossible not to pine for what might have been. Many have lamented that she did not live to take up the offer to sing Erda and Brangaene at Bayreuth, but my big regret is that this pint-swigging, earthy northern lass was never persuaded to take on Mistress Quickly in Falstaff. Ferrier famously disliked opera (Orfeo and Lucretia were her only two stage roles), lamenting that she felt awkward on stage, but the dramatic instinct that blazes forth from every bar of her Orfeo (Che faro may be the plum, but listen to the lightening changes of mood and intention in those recitatives!) suggests that the right director could have overcome her reluctance. It’s also a huge pity that she didn’t survive to see the Handel revival: as was the fashion at the time, the Handel arias here are English-language versions with piano in parlour-song tradition, but she would surely have made a noble, plangent Cornelia in Giulio Cesare and a wonderfully stoic Irene in Theodora. Both boxes feature re-issues of classic recordings, with a few extras and new discoveries. EMI offer previously-unreleased takes of Kindertotenlieder, whilst Decca include the DVD documentary ‘An Ordinary Diva’ (sound throughout is much improved thanks to new re-masterings, and there are lovely individual sleeves with different photos of ‘Kaff’ on each cover). The myriad highlights are, I’m sure, already familiar and much-cherished by many readers. Aside from the Orfeo, I was overwhelmed by the simple sincerity of the Matthew Passion arias, the shy, confiding eroticism of Frauenliebe, and of course the two great Mahler cycles. The searing performance of the final two Rückert songs, moving from fear to acceptance of death, is almost unbearably poignant, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I still can’t make it through with dry eyes.
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 Kathleen Ferrier: The Complete EMI RecordingsKathleen Ferrier (contralto) |
 Kathleen Ferrier: The Complete Decca RecordingsKathleen Ferrier (contralto) |
Katherine Cooper - katherine@prestoclassical.co.uk |
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Watch: A short video trailerNew Releases23rd April 2012 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Weinberg: Symphony No. 6St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir LandeWeinberg is increasingly recognised as one of the outstanding composers of the second half of the twentieth century. His Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes is a concise medley of tunes that embrace folk influence, both melancholic and high spirited, culminating in a joyous and unstoppable dance. Scored for a very large orchestra and a children’s choir, Symphony No. 6 is a work of huge expression, anguished and dynamic, encompassing lament, circus gallops, burlesque, and a cataclysmic and heartrending slow movement.
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 Johan Halvorsen: Orchestral Works Volume 4Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Neeme JärviThis is the fourth and final volume of colourful and highly appealing orchestral works by the Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen. The series is performed by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Neeme Järvi.
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 Handel & Caldara: Carmelite VespersRoberta Invernizzi, Robin Johannsen (sopranos), Martin Oro (countertenor), Markus Brutscher (tenor), Antonio Abete (bass), Academia Montis Regalis, Alessandro de MarchiIn early 18th-century Rome the holiday of Madonna del Carmine was celebrated with a lavish musical pasticcio. Italian Early Music specialist Alessandro de Marchi, his Academia Montis Regalis and an excellent ensemble of solo vocalists present the reconstruction of such a service as it might have been performed in 1709 under the direction of Venetian master Antonio Caldara (1670–1736). The programme combines lesser-known but stunningly beautiful pieces by Caldara himself with famous motets by his predecessor Handel such as “Dixit Dominus” or “Laudate pueri”. |
 Gesualdo: Madrigali libro quinto, 1611The Hilliard EnsembleFor their latest album for ECM, and over 20 years after their first recorded foray into Gesualdo with his Tenebrae Responsories (8438672), The Hilliard Ensemble turn again to the music of the Italian nobleman, this time to sing the entire Fifth Book of Madrigals. |
 Heggie: Dead Man WalkingJoyce DiDonato, Philip Cutlip, Frederica von Stade, Measha Brueggergosman, Houston Grand Opera & Chorus, Patrick Summers“Cathartic, uplifting and humanizing” wrote the Houston Chronicle, reporting on this Houston Grand Opera production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. Joyce DiDonato as Sister Helen Prejean, who becomes a counsellor to murderer on death row in Louisiana, shares the stage with her idol, veteran mezzo Frederica von Stade, here making her farewell to opera. |
 Grant The King A Long Life: English Anthems & Instrumental MusicThe Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge & Fretwork, David SkinnerThomas Weelkes was a notorious drunkard and blasphemer, in regular conflict with the authorities of Chichester Cathedral where he was organist, Informator Choristarum, and a singing-man from 1602 until his death in 1623. At least that is his modern reputation. But regardless of the man’s personal flaws, his music firmly stands as sublime.
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 32 Short Films about Glenn GouldThe Sound Of Genius A Film By François GirardInternationally renowned pianist Glenn Gould had all the marks of genius – blinding talent, a craving for perfection and absolute bullheadedness. In Thirty Two Short Films about Glenn Gould, director François Girard goes directly to the centre of Gould’s ideas, his passions and his music. Using thirty-two elegantly constructed vignettes, the film span Gould’s life from the age of four until his untimely death aged fifty. |
 Collectors Edition6 new re-issuesThe latest batch of bargain priced collectors editions include Claudio Arrau playing Beethoven, the Angeles String Quartet playing Haydn, Sir Colin Davis’s Sibelius cycle with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Messiaen’s orchestral works in recordings from mainly Chung and Boulez, Abbado’s Rossini Operas, and The English Concert under Trevor Pinnock performing 55 Vivaldi Concertos. |
Download - download options available for this item BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 21st April 2012 |
Building a Library - Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 100 |
 First Choice(coupled with Symphony No. 1)Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan |
Disc of the Week |
 Dobrzynski & Lessel: Piano ConcertosHoward Shelley (piano & conductor), Sinfonia Varsovia |
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