Benjamin Britten's Music for Kathleen Ferrier
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‘Darling Kath’: Benjamin Britten’s Music for Kathleen Ferrier This image is under copyright. Alexandra Morag Mathew ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1796-3714 Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Music (Musicology) May 2018 Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Faculty of Fine Arts and Music The University of Melbourne ii Title Page Image: Kathleen Ferrier and Benjamin Britten in Amsterdam, in Paul Campion, Ferrier: A Career Recorded (London: Thames, 2005) 87. ‘Darling Kath’ DECLARATION This is to certify that: (i) the thesis comprises only my original work toward the Masters except where indicated in the Acknowledgements, (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used, (iii) the thesis is 48,976 words in length, inclusive of footnotes, but exclusive of bibliography. Signature: Name in Full: Alexandra Morag Mathew Date: 8 May 2018 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to the many people who helped in the completion of this thesis. Foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr Suzanne Robinson, without whose support, guidance, patience, dedication and expertise I would not have been able to complete this thesis. Thank you. I would also like to thank the following people for their support: Professor Kerry Murphy, for her expert counsel; Associate Professor Linda Kouvaras and Professor Jane Davidson, for academic guidance; Christine Webster and Sam Smith at the Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library; Dr Nicholas Clark, Judith Ratcliffe, and the staff at the Britten-Pears Archive; Caroline Wilkinson at the Kathleen Ferrier Archive, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery; the staff at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; the British Library Music and Manuscripts staff; Dr Paul Kildea, for offering invaluable insights on navigating Benjamin Britten scholarship; Dr Katherine Firth, for sharing knowledge and expertise on Hedli Anderson, W.H. Auden and the Group Theatre; Professor Ian Donaldson, for advice on Herrick literature; Dr Christopher Fifield, for the discussion on Kathleen Ferrier; Dr Jonathan Wallis, for recommending literature on Lucretia; the Faculty Small Grant Scheme; for providing funds to undertake archival research in the UK; Dr Rachel Landgren; Myriam Arbouz; Xin Ying Ch’ng; Sarah Kirby; Dr Julia Lai Kwon; my singing teacher Anna Connolly, for advice on writing about singing; Sara Hodson and Simon Surtees, for housing, feeding and watering me on my trips to London; Barbara Burrell, for sharing memories of friendships with Britten, Pears, and E.M. Forster; Imogen Mathew and Rob Mathew, for moral support; the residents of B61, for sharing with me the highs and lows of thesis life; Tom Hoskins at Readings at the State Library, for not grumbling when I worked on my thesis during quiet shifts; my colleagues at Readings in Carlton, for their support and friendship; Hugh Fullarton, for conversations about music and Britten; Dr Damien Powell, for advice on postgraduate research; last but not least, my mother Rosemary Metz, for tea, sympathy and proofreading. ii ABSTRACT This thesis examines the career of contralto Kathleen Ferrier (1912–1953), and her collaborations with composer Benjamin Britten (1913–1976). In the late 1940s, Kathleen Ferrier was among the most famous classical singers of her day. Britten was the pre- eminent composer in Britain, composing solos for Ferrier in three major works: the title role in The Rape of Lucretia (1946), the contralto solos in Spring Symphony (1949), and the part of Isaac in Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac (1952). Although their collaboration ceased with Ferrier’s untimely death, Britten’s work with Ferrier was musically and personally significant, and proved influential for the course of Britten’s career and for shaping Ferrier’s legacy. Drawing on diaries, correspondence, and recordings, this thesis examines Britten’s intricate understanding of Ferrier’s voice and ability, the unusual way in which he exploited them, and how Ferrier in turn interpreted and created the premiere performances. In addition, with reference to the writings of J.P.E. Harper-Scott and Carolyn Abbate, this thesis evaluates the nature of the relationship between an influential male composer and the woman who gives voice to a work or role, to address the vexed question whether it is the composer or interpreter who creates that role. TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration ........................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... ii Abstract ............................................................................................................................... iii List of Musical Examples ................................................................................................ v List of Illustrations .......................................................................................................... vii Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 Part I ................................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 1: Contextualising the Contralto Voice .................................................. 16 Part II ................................................................................................................................. 37 Chapter 2: Ferrier’s Repertoire and Critical Reception ...................................... 38 Part III ............................................................................................................................... 58 Chapter 3: An Extraordinary Lucretia: Kathleen Ferrier’s Role in The Rape of Lucretia ................................................................................. 59 Chapter 4: ‘Her Beautiful Dark Voice’: Alto Solos in Spring Symphony .......... 85 Chapter 5: Isaac’s ‘Boyish Nonchalance’ in Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac .. 105 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 123 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 127 iv LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example 1: Felix Mendelssohn, ‘O rest in the Lord’, from Elijah, 1846, bars 1–3. .................. 26 Example 2: Elgar, ‘Sea Slumber Song’, Sea Pictures, 1899, bars 10–11. ...................................... 28 Example 3: Christopher Wilibald Gluck, ‘Che faró senza Euridice’, Orfeo ed Euridice, Vienna version of 1762, bars 454–63. ....................................................................................................... 42 Example 4: Georg Frederick Handel, ‘He was despised’, Messiah, bars 19–21. ........................ 44 Example 5: Gustav Mahler, ‘Auf Wegen die von weichen Grasse schwellen’, Das Lied von der Erde, 1908, vocal score arr. Erwin Stein, 1942, 32. .......................................................... 50 Example 6: Ernest Chausson, Poème de L’amour et de la mer, vocal score, op. 19, 1892, fig. 16. .............................................................................................................................................................. 52 Example 7: Gluck, ‘Io son pure’, ‘Che faró senza Euridice’, Orfeo ed Euridice, bars 20–29. .... 54 Example 8: Benjamin Britten, ‘Take them away, I tell you!’, The Rape of Lucretia: An Opera in Two Acts, fig. 69. .............................................................................................................................. 73 Example 9: Britten, ‘Flowers bring to ev’ry year the same perfection’, Rape of Lucretia, fig. 75. ........................................................................................................................................................ 76 Example 10: Britten, ‘Last night Tarquinius ravished me’, Rape of Lucretia, bar before fig. 87. ........................................................................................................................................................ 77 Example 11: Britten, ‘Now I’ll be forever chaste’, Rape of Lucretia, bar before fig. 94. ........... 78 Example 12: Britten, ‘Washes my shame away’, Rape of Lucretia, six bars after fig. 94. ......... 79 Example 13: Franz Schubert, ‘Der Frühling will kommen’, Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, 1828, bars 318–323. ................................................................................................................................... 89 Example 14: Benjamin Britten, ‘Welcome Maids of Honour’, Spring Symphony, 1949, bars 4– 7. .......................................................................................................................................................... 91 Example 15: Britten, ‘Welcome Maids of Honour’, Spring Symphony, bars 29–32. .................. 92 Example 16: Britten, ‘Welcome Maids of Honour’, Spring Symphony, bars 36–39. .................. 93 Example 17: Britten, ‘Out on the lawn’, Spring Symphony, bars 5–8. ........................................ 100 Example 18: Britten, ‘What violence is done’, ‘Out on the lawn’, Spring Symphony, bars 44– 50. ..................................................................................................................................................... 102 Example 19: Benjamin Britten, ‘Abraham’, Canticle II: Abraham