Kathleen Ferrier - Bach & Handel (1985)

Although her career was tragically short, Kathleen Ferrier was among the most famous English singers of the twentieth century. Her contralto voice -- a rarity in itself -- was characterized by a firm, warm tone that found its expressive niche in the great works of oratorio and art song, as well as in her two operatic roles (only two!): Lucretia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.
Kathleen Ferrier’s highly individual, plangent voice, natural musicianship and high level of personal professionalism made her one of England’s most popular singers during her all-too-brief career.
This disc compiles a large number of her recordings of arias by Bach and Handel, to whose music she brought breadth, nobility and deep emotional commitment. She is accompanied by Sir Adrian Boult and Reginald Jacques, both major figures in England’s post-war musical life.