Oh no, dear reader, this is anything but an nth album of Kathleen Ferrier hits; in fact, it is nineteen tracks from never-before-seen records, including several songs of which no alternative versions have ever been performed by Ferrier. About half of the recordings come from the BBC archives; the other half from a very special collection in the hands of a very special collector - an engineer who is also a fan - who was in the habit of recording broadcasts from the BBC onto metal discs, which were used by a few specialists and radio companies, but which were also of a superior quality, in the days before magnetic tape recordings. The recordings were made between 1947, the height of the contralto's career, until 1952 when she was already gravely ill, even if her voice remained perfectly intact, and if it was still possible for her to sing with just as utterly moving a sound as before. The accompaniment: Frederick Stone (one of her "official" pianists) on the majority of tracks, Bruno Walter for some, and Gerald Moore for the closing number. Admirers of Kathleen Ferrier will surely welcome the publication of previously-unknown archives. © SM/Qobuz