BACH / HANDEL

 

Arias

 

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Mass in B minor, BWV 232: No. 10: Qui sedes

St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244: Part I, No. 10: Grief for sin (Buß und Reu)

St. John Passion, BWV 245: Part 2, No. 30: All is fulfilled (Es ist vollbracht!)

Mass in B minor, BWV 232: No. 26: Agnus Dei

 

George Frederic Handel (1685-1759)

Samson, HWV 57: Part 1, No. 4: Return, O God of Hosts

Messiah, HWV 56: Part 1, No. 9: O Thou, that tellest good tidings to Zion

Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Part 3, No. 1: Father of Heaven

Messiah, HWV 56: Part 2, No. 23: He was despised

 

Kathleen Ferrier, contralto

Michael Dobson, oboe d’amore

Ambrose Gauntlet, viola da gamba

Basil Lam, harpsichord continuo

London Philharmonic Orchestra / Adrian Boult

Recorded on 7th and 8th October, 1952 in Kingsway Hall, London

 

Johann Sebastian Bach

Cantata No. 11,“Praise our God” (Lobet Gott in seinem Reichen, BWV 11)

Kathleen Ferrier, contralto

Ena Mitchell, soprano

William Herbert, tenor

William Parsons, bass

Thornton Lofthouse, harpsichord continuo

Jacques Orchestra and Cantata Singers / Reginald Jacques

Recorded 6th October, 1st and 3rd November, 1949 in Kingsway Hall, London

 

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. The Cantata recording appears on CD for the first time.

 

“Ferrier, perhaps the finest British singer in the period following World War II, was a true contralto with technique and musicality that in the rarefied world of contraltos has never been surpassed.” American Record Guide

 

Naxos Historical 8111295