by Paul Campion

Kathleen Ferrier – A Memoir, edited by Neville Cardus: (Hamish Hamilton, 1954 – 125 pp, Hardback).
A collection of six beautifully written tributes to Ferrier by some of her closest friends and colleagues: Sir John Barbirolli, Benjamin Britten, Neville Cardus, Roy Henderson, Gerald Moore and Bruno Walter. Extensively illustrated.

The Life of Kathleen Ferrier, by Winifred Ferrier: (Hamish Hamilton, 1955 – 191 pp, Hardback).
The first authoritative biography, a very well written and affectionate tribute by the family member closest to Kathleen Ferrier. Extensively illustrated. Since 1955 this book has been re-printed in paperback on several occasions.

Kathleen Ferrier, by Charles Rigby: (Robert Hale, 1955 – 198 pp, Hardback).
An unauthorised biography, the subject of much controversy on its publication. Inaccurate in many ways, it does include some photographs of Ferrier not published elsewhere. Extensively illustrated.

Kathleeen, by Maurice Leonard: (Hutchinson, 1988 – 274 pp, Hardback).
An excellent portrait that enlarges considerably on earlier biographies. It reveals aspects of Kathleen’s life and illness that her sister had been reluctant to focus on so soon after Kathleen’s death, and was written with Winifred’s full co-operation and help. Extensively illustrated. A revised and updated version was published in May 2008 by Nonsuch Publishing, but without illustrations (224 pp, Paperback).

Kathleen Ferrier, by Jérôme Spycket: (Payot Lausanne, 1990 – 159 pp, Paperback).
A short biography in French, alternate pages being devoted to superb photographs, many of which are unpublished elsewhere. Spycket’s La vie brève de Kathleen Ferrier was published by Fayard in 2003.

Ferrier – A Career Recorded, by Paul Campion: (Thames Publishing/Music Sales, 2005 – 244 pp, Hardback).
A detailed annotated discography that considers Ferrier’s recordings, made between June 1944 and January 1953, in the context of her short, busy career; it also includes recording dates, venues and issue numbers, with numerous anecdotes and stories. All of Ferrier’s recordings known at the time of writing are discussed, including a number ‘re-discovered’ shortly before the book’s publication; a special section discusses Ferrier on film and DVD. Extensively illustrated.

The Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier, Klever Kaff, edited by Christopher Fifield: (Boydell & Brewer, 2011 – 489 pp, Paperback).
This new paperback edition of Dr Fifield’s 2003 book contains much recently-discovered material to add to the already fascinating surviving letters from Kathleen Ferrier to numerous correspondents in the UK and North America. The diaries, too, reveal the sheer pressure of work and travel that Ferrier endured during the tough wartime and post-war period. Included is a new section on Kathleen Ferrier and the BBC. Extensively illustrated.

Other useful references:

The Grand Tradition, by John Steane: (Duckworth, 1974)
Singers of the Century volume 1, by John Steane: (Duckworth, 1996)
Opera on Record, volume 1, ed Alan Blyth: (Hutchinson, 1979)
Opera on Record, volume 2, ed Alan Blyth: (Hutchinson, 1983)
Song on Record, volume 1, ed Alan Blyth: (C.U.P., 1986)
Song on Record, volume 2, ed Alan Blyth: (C.U.P., 1988)
Choral Music on Record, ed Alan Blyth, (C.U.P., 1991)
Putting the Record Straight, by John Culshaw: (Secker & Warburg, 1981)
Walter Legge – A Discography, by Alan Sanders: (Greenwood Press, 1984)
Benjamin Britten – A Biography, by Humphrey Carpenter: (Faber and Faber, 1992)
Reggie – The Life of Reginald Goodall, by John Lucas: (Julia MacRae, 1993)
More Legendary Voices, by Nigel Douglas: (Andre Deutsch, 1994)
Glyndebourne Recorded, by Rosy Runciman and Paul Campion: (Julia MacRae, 1994)
La voix de Kathleen Ferrier, by Benoit Mailliet le Penven: (Balland, 1997)
Time and Concord: Aldeburgh Festival Recollections, by Jenni Wake-Walker: (Autograph Books, 1997)
Klever Kaff, in Granta, by Ian Jack: (Winter 2001)
Parting is such sweet sorrow, article in Gramophone, by Martin Cullingford: (September 2003)
Barbirolli – Conductor Laureate (revised version), by Michael Kennedy: (Barbirolli Society, 2003)