Description
Artists
|
“in 1952 Kathleen Ferrier made her last and perhaps greatest record … four arias each of Bach and Handel. The (engineers) ensured the utmost fidelity” (Penguin Guide Rosette) “This is a recording that honours all concerned and in which Ferrier shows the English art of oratorio singing at its finest. She is in superb voice and is accompanied with scrupulous artistry by Boult and the L.P.O. …The finest thing of all is All is Fulfilled … The hushed way (she) sings “This mournful night” and the sudden broken utterance “It is finished”, dwell long in the memory. Having listened to contraltos singing Return, O God of Hosts at competitions, I can pay no higher compliment to Ferrier than to say I felt I was hearing it for the first time … It is rare that a disc gives such satisfaction in almost every respect” (Gramophone) The style is not remotely historically informed and the recorded sound is decidedly dated, but even the hardest of hearts will melt on hearing Ferrier’s achingly beautiful performance of ‘All is fulfilled’. -— BBC Music Magazine, May 2022 |
