BBC4 re-run of 2003 Kathleen Ferrier documentary

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

There is a new documentary out tomorrow on DVD with a bonus disc of apparently some unpublished recordings - have duly ordered.

Mentioned on CD Review yesterday, Barbi (straight after BaL). Apparently it's a US-produced documentary (she is still remembered and loved in the States) with narration by Charlotte Rampling, who calls her "Kath-leeen Ferryay" throughout!

[LeMartinPecheur]

She was a wonderful singer - her three Ruckert Lieder are marvellous most of all Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen which is a desert island disc for me .

Barbirollians: interesting that you pick out Ich bin der Welt: for me the desert island one is Um Mitternacht! Mainly it's her sheer weight of tone to match (or even dominate) the rich wind orchestration at the climax.

I bought the disc as a teenager just getting into classical music and then often bought historical recodings as a way to save money and buy as much repertoire as I could. A bit later - with the benefit of a student grant - I bought the Baker recording, partly to get the other 2 songs but also as a growing JB worshipper. But I was really disappointed that (IMHO) she couldn't match Ferrier in that respect in this song: newer isn't always better.

This may have eased me onto the slippery slope of comparative record collecting

[Barbirollians]

I agree that her Um Mitternacht is stupendous - Ich bin der Welt is just my favourite of the Ruckert Lieder and she sings it so poignantly .

[Mary Chambers]

I'm very annoyed to see that this isn't on iPlayer. It was on rather late for me, so I thought I'd watch it today. I did see it last time it was on, so it doesn't really matter, but it would have been quite nice to see it again.

[amateur51]

That's twice I've fallen foul of this recently - the other one was the John Bridcut/Britten's Children repeat. I'm surprised not only by the unavailablility on the iPlayer but also that they're not available on DVD.

There's only one thing for it - I shall have to be more alert!

[Mary Chambers]

I've just discovered there is a DVD of the Ferrier programme, though it seems to be hard to get hold of - one expensive copy on Amazon. There are also clips on Youtube.

I heard a rumour that Britten's Children is going to be issued on DVD, but there's no sign of it yet.

[amateur51]

I've just discovered there is a DVD of the Ferrier programme, though it seems to be hard to get hold of - one expensive copy on Amazon. There are also clips on Youtube.

I heard a rumour that Britten's Children is going to be issued on DVD, but there's no sign of it yet.

Many thanks, Mary - I'll keep my eyes peeled.

[DracoM]

Look, I am worried.

Am I the ONLY person in the UK who finds KF's voice almost totally unlistenable to? The second I hear her voice I have to switch off.
That wobbly, chesty, plangent earnestness.
And if I hear 'Blow the b.....y wind Southerly' again................

[salymap]

I'm very annoyed to see that this isn't on iPlayer. It was on rather late for me, so I thought I'd watch it today. I did see it last time it was on, so it doesn't really matter, but it would have been quite nice to see it again.

Exactly my views Mary. I put the TV off and didn't leave it to record as there was thunder about. This morning, as you say, it's not available. To be honest, I don't know if I saw the film years ago or not.
Still, like you, I have read a lot about KF and am old enough to have seen her in performance and rehearsal.
Did she sing in an RAH Messiah with Peter Pears? I am sure I saw them together in something, probably in late 1940s, very early 50s. Soloists and orchestra rehearsal in this case.

[mercia]

is "wobble" the same as vibrato ?

even Aled "Snowman" Jones had vibrato as a choirboy

[DracoM]

Call it what you like, it's still horrible.

[Mary Chambers]

I don't think you're the only one, DracoM!

For me, it's largely a nostalgia thing. My mother was obsessed with Kathleen Ferrier, so I heard a great deal of her voice in my childhood, though I never heard her live - I don't know why not, as I was 13 when she died and my mother took me to lots of performances. I didn't particularly like her voice then, and even my mother, listening to Ferrier's recordings 30-odd years after her death, thought they sounded dated.

Now, I can appreciate her more, and of course it's very difficult to separate her singing from the tragic story. Everyone I've ever heard about or known who heard her live - including many great musicians - seems to have found her very special indeed, so there must be some reason for that.

[mercia]

Call it what you like, it's still horrible.

well I know I'm not an expert but vibrato is present in virtually all singing voices isn't it ?

[Mary Chambers]

Still, like you, I have read a lot about KF and am old enough to have seen her in performance and rehearsal.
Did she sing in an RAH Messiah with Peter Pears? I am sure I saw them together in something, probably in late 1940s, very early 50s. Soloists and orchestra rehearsal in this case.

Yes, she often sang with Pears, and they were good friends. Britten composed his Lucretia and the Spring Symphony alto part for her (she didn't like the latter much!), and also Abraham and Isaac, for her, Pears and himself. They tried to record it, but she was too ill. There was apparently a BBC tape of a performance of it, which was destroyed. I think the Britten-Pears library is still hoping a copy of it will turn up somewhere!

Pears and Ferrier in Edinburgh, 1947.

http://brittenpears2.org/resources/images/pears/pp13.jpg

[Nick Armstrong]

Look, I am worried.

Am I the ONLY person in the UK who finds KF's voice almost totally unlistenable to? The second I hear her voice I have to switch off.
That wobbly, chesty, plangent earnestness.
And if I hear 'Blow the b.....y wind Southerly' again................

No - see my #14 above...