Kathleen Ferrier

Blow the Wind Southerly Kathleen Ferrier

Few, if any, would dispute the description of Kathleen Ferrier as the greatest lyric contralto England has ever produced. To update the words of her friend and singing colleague, soprano Isobel Baillie, 'Fifty years after her death on 8 October 1953, the very inflection in the mention of her name is invariably tinged with a deep and genuine affection and more than a hint of sadness'. She began to make a name for herself in 1942 when she moved down to London from Carlisle. Not only did she continue her busy schedule of wartime recital tours for CEMA (Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts), but also to broaden her repertoire to include Handel's Messiah, the Bach Passions and B minor Mass, Elgar's oratorios.