I don’t ‘do’ Facebook so I’m grateful to my son Hugo Herman-Wilson for forwarding a posting detailing the ten ‘greatest’ British (classical) singers of all time. As I’m about to disagree, to a considerable extent, sometimes in rather intemperate terms, with the writer’s opinion it is only fair I don’t give their name. Suffice to say the list originally appeared under the auspices of the BBC Music Magazine, so I suppose we are meant to take it seriously
First point at issue: this posting gives us ‘the ten greatest British singers of all time’, but Kathleen Ferrier is as far back as the reviewer is prepared to go, despite our being able to listen to singers quite a bit before Ferrier’s time, so what about John McCormack, Dame Clara Butt, Eva Turner, Isobel Baillie, Walter Widdop or Heddle Nash, say?
Anyway to deal with those who are named –
Kathleen Ferrier
It’s difficult to argue with her inclusion – if any British singer can be described as iconic it’s Ferrier. For those of my parents’ generation she was hugely important. Mum and Dad, like hundreds of thousands of others, had some Ferrier 78s in their collection – ‘Blow the Wind Southerly’ being pre-eminent, and I remember listening to her voice when I was young, although to be honest, I have no recollection of the effect it had on me.. There is also the tragedy of her early death and her stoicism in the face of her agonizing bone cancer – a hip shattering when she was singing Gluck’s ‘Orpheus and Euridice’’ at Covent Garden. Then there are her recordings, quite few in number but legendary: ‘Das Lied Von Der Erde’ probably being the most notable. In addition, there is the intense reaction her singing could trigger – her performance in Bach’s ‘B Minor Mass’ moved Herbert Von Karajan to tears, an almost unprecedented event according to Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, the soprano in that performance, and everyone who worked with her seemed to adore her. On top of all this there is a certain personal mystery – was she gay or bi-sexual? Is it true her marriage was never consummated? Why do none of the biographies, even Ian Jack’s, really get to grips with her character and these enigmas? It’s against this background that I have to admit that quite a lot of Ferrier’s singing leaves me cold, or more accurately, puzzled. She often seems to be holding something back emotionally, relying on her extraordinarily rich, almost glutinous sound to do that emotional work for her. Fundamentally, I don’t find Ferrier’s voice sexy (or even sexual) and I think the greatest singing should be just that – sexy. I am certainly moved by some of her singing, ‘Der Abschied’ from ‘Das Lied’ and the Brahms’ songs for Alto, Viola and Piano for example, but I am not totally convinced. As a final word on this remarkable singer (and yes, I am choosing my words carefully) let us consider her performance as Lucretia in Britten’s ‘The Rape of Lucretia’. Britten wrote no effective, deeply felt love music for women (discuss!!) and this is nowhere more obvious than in ‘Lucretia’, where the libretto tells us that the would be rapist, Tarquinius, is overcome by Lucretia’s all-consuming desire (‘Now the great river underneath the ground flows through Lucretia and Tarquinius is drowned.) There is little in the music to suggest this, so here Ferrier as an asexual figure in a roman frieze has found her ideal role. I’ll just add in passing that the only effective love duet Britten ever wrote is for the German and English soldiers singing ‘Let us sleep now’ at the end of ‘War Requiem’ at the conclusion of the setting of Wilfred Owen’s ‘Strange Meeting’. How magnificent that is! But, to get back to Ferrier, she has to be on any list of the eleven greatest British singers, even mine…
Bryn Terfel
Yes, yes and a thousand times yes. Listening to Sir Bryn since Cardiff Singer of the World in 1989 has been one of the most profound pleasures and privileges of my musical life.
Janet Baker
Again, yes, yes, yes! Superb singer who even makes ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ sound sexy (see remarks on Ferrier). Her early recording of Herbert Howells ‘King David’ is simply sublime.
Roderick Williams
Those of you who have read my posting on John Shirley-Quirk will know my opinion on ‘Roddy’. He has a beautiful voice but is too tasteful for his own good. I am never stirred. Lovely man, musical, conscientious artist, fine colleague, but not for me. A safe option when Radio 3 needs a recording by a baritone: audiences hear him all the time and conclude he must be great… What about Sir Thomas Allen? (or Benjamin Luxon, or Sir John Tomlinson or David Wilson-Johnson…) And, of course, JS-Q…
Emma Kirkby
Definitely NO! A singer beloved of those who are disturbed by real singing. A typical Kirkby enthusiast would be, like her, someone who went to one of the ancient universities, sang a lot of a capella stuff in candlelit chapels, probably met their life’s partner and finds their heart racing at the thought of the Byrd Four Part. I know she’s adored by millions but I find her limited. Sorry…
Philip Langridge
Yes!!! Without having a conventionally beautiful voice, Langridge turned in a series of unforgettable performances before his sadly premature death. I had direct experience of his Peter Grimes and Captain Vere in ‘Billy Budd’ – both superb – and his recording of Tippett songs is also brilliant. I had the honour of covering him in Harrison Birtwistle’s ‘The Second Mrs Kong’ at Glyndebourne and my family saw his last ever operatic performance as the Witch in ‘Hansel and Gretel’ at the Met two months before he died.
Felicity Lott
This is a tricky one. Dame Felicity was a very fine singer and particularly beautiful in Strauss, as is generally acknowledged. It is probably perverse of me to find her singing rather self-satisfied and precious – a trait she shares with others of Graham Johnson’s ‘Song-makers Almanac’ stable (see my comments on Anthony Rolfe-Johnson below). It is certainly unfair of me to object to her nickname (‘Flott’), particularly when used by those who don’t know her personally – but this is my Blog and there we have it. I’m not going to make a huge fuss about her inclusion but, suffice it to say I’d have chosen the great Margaret Price before her.
Iestyn Davies
Of all the singers on this list with whom I take issue, Iestyn Davies is the most surprising. He clearly has a fine counter-tenor voice but should not be considered before, Alfred Deller, Paul Esswood, James Bowman, Michael Chance, Robin Blaze, Andrew Watts, or Chris Robson. Deller is a great singer by any standards – listen to his recording of ‘The Bitter Withy’ to see what I mean – and he almost single-handedly rescued the counter-tenor voice from choir stall oblivion. As for Bowman, he is not only a superb singer (listen to his recording of Handel’s ‘Eternal Source of Light Divine’ – sublime) but has had a profound influence on a whole generation of later counter-tenors. Chris Robson is less well-known but deserves a special mention as a superb operatic actor – quite a rara avis in counter-tenor circles…
Natalya Romaniw
Well, she’s a superb singer but is it perhaps rather early in her career to judge her greatness? Let’s ask again in ten years time. Having said that, her recent Ariadne at Garsington was a great, great performance so she’s certainly on her way…
Anthony Rolfe-Johnson
Another tricky one. He had the most beautiful voice (his recording of Poulenc’s ‘Bleuet’ is ravishing) and was clearly a major international artist, but as well as his exhibiting ‘The Song Maker’s Almanac Effect’ to some extent (see F. Lott), I do find his interpretations a shade superficial. I feel guilty saying this in a way because he was a lovely chap and his early on-set Alzheimer’s was an obscene trick for nature to play on him. His many admirers will disagree with me profoundly and that, of course, is absolutely fine
As for those not on the list, the omission of Peter Pears is astonishing (and wrong). Great singing is about more than vocal prettiness, and Pears was a supreme artist with a unique voice. Elizabeth Schwarzkopf (not easily impressed) acknowledged, somewhat to her astonishment, that Pears was a great lieder singer, he was an unsurpassed evangelist in the Bach Passions and, of course, was Britten’s muse and supreme interpreter. A friend of mine saw Pears’ New York Met debut as Aschenbach in ‘Death in Venice’ – he told me it was beyond belief magnificent. While still at school I heard Pears and Britten give a recital at Cardiff University Concert Hall – I was only sixteen but I recognised greatness, and still do.
Further shout-outs might go to Ian Partridge, Alexander Young, Helen Watts, Richard Lewis and Geraint Evans, but my ultimate 1st XI list is:
Kathleen Ferrier
Alfred Deller
Sir Peter Pears
Dame Margaret Price
Dame Janet Baker
John Shirley Quirk
Philip Langridge
James Bowman
Sir Thomas Allen
Sir John Tomlinson
Sir Bryn Terfel
(On the bench: Natalya Romaniw)
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