text: kathleen ferrier kathleen mary ferrier , cbe ( 22 april 1912 – 8 october 1953 ) was an english contralto singer who achieved an international reputation as a stage , concert and recording artist , with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of bach , brahms , mahler and elgar . her death from cancer , at the height of her fame , was a shock to the musical world and particularly to the general public , which was kept in ignorance of the nature of her illness until after her death . the daughter of a lancashire village schoolmaster , ferrier showed early talent as a pianist , and won numerous amateur piano competitions while working as a telephonist with the general post office . she did not take up singing seriously until 1937 , when after winning a prestigious singing competition at the carlisle festival she began to receive offers of professional engagements as a vocalist . thereafter she took singing lessons , first with j.e. hutchinson and later with roy henderson . after the outbreak of the second world war ferrier was recruited by the council for the encouragement of music and the arts ( cema ) , and in the following years sang at concerts and recitals throughout england . in 1942 her career was boosted when she met the conductor malcolm sargent , who recommended her to the influential and tillett concert management agency . she became a regular performer at leading london and provincial venues , and made numerous bbc radio broadcasts . in 1946 , ferrier made her stage debut , in the glyndebourne festival premiere of benjamin britten 's opera the rape of lucretia . a year later she made her first appearance as orfeo in gluck 's orfeo ed euridice , a work with which she became particularly associated . by her own choice , these were her only two operatic roles . as her reputation grew , ferrier formed close working relationships with major musical figures , including britten , sir john barbirolli , bruno walter and the accompanist gerald moore . she became known internationally through her three tours to the united states between 1948 and 1950 and her many visits to continental europe . ferrier was diagnosed with breast cancer in march 1951 . in between periods of hospitalisation and convalescence she continued to perform and record ; her final public appearance was as orfeo , at the royal opera house in february 1953 , eight months before her death . among her many memorials , the kathleen ferrier cancer research fund was launched in may 1954 . the kathleen ferrier scholarship fund , administered by the royal philharmonic society , has since 1956 made annual awards to aspiring young professional singers . early life childhood the ferrier family originally came from pembrokeshire in south west wales . the lancashire branch originated in the 19th century , when thomas ferrier ( youngest son of private thomas ferrier of the pembrokeshire regiment ) settled in the area after being stationed near blackburn during a period of industrial unrest . kathleen ferrier was born on 22 april 1912 , in the lancashire village of higher walton where her father william ferrier ( the fourth child of thomas and elizabeth , née gorton ) was the head of the village school . although untrained musically , william was an enthusiastic member of the local operatic society and of several choirs , and his wife alice ( née murray ) , whom he married in 1900 , was a competent singer with a strong contralto voice . kathleen was the third and youngest of the couple 's children , following a sister and a brother ; when she was two the family moved to blackburn , after william was appointed headmaster of st paul 's school in the town . from an early age kathleen showed promise as a pianist , and had lessons with frances walker , a noted north of england piano teacher who had been a pupil of tobias matthay . kathleen 's talent developed quickly ; in 1924 she came fourth out of 43 entrants at the lytham st annes festival piano competition , and in the following year at lytham she achieved second place . and pianist because of william 's impending retirement and the consequent fall in the family 's income , ferrier 's hopes of attending a music college could not be realised . in august 1926 she left school to start work as a trainee at the gpo telephone exchange in blackburn . she continued her piano studies under frances walker , and in november 1928 was the regional winner in a national contest for young pianists , organised by the daily express . although unsuccessful in the london finals which followed , ferrier won a cramer upright piano as a prize . on 10 march 1929 she made a well - received appearance as an accompanist in a concert at blackburn 's king george 's hall . after further piano competition successes she was invited to perform a short radio recital at the manchester studios of the bbc , and on 3 july 1930 made her first broadcast , playing works by brahms and percy grainger . around this time she completed her training and she became a fully fledged telephonist . in 1931 , aged 19 , ferrier passed her licentiate examinations at the royal academy of music . in that year she started occasional singing lessons , and in december sang a small mezzo - soprano role in a church performance of mendelssohn 's oratorio elijah . however , her voice was not thought to be exceptional ; her musical life centred on the piano and on local concerts , at king george 's hall and elsewhere . early in 1934 she transferred to the blackpool telephone exchange and took lodgings nearby , to be close to her new boyfriend , a bank clerk named albert wilson . while at blackpool she auditioned for the new " speaking clock " service which the gpo was preparing to introduce . in her excitement , ferrier inserted an extra aspirate into her audition , and was not chosen for the final selection in london . her decision in 1935 to marry wilson meant the end of her employment with the telephone exchange , since at that time the gpo did not employ married women . of ferrier 's career to this point , the music biographer humphrey burton wrote : " for more than a decade , when she should have been studying music with the best teachers , learning english literature and foreign languages , acquiring stage craft and movement skills , and travelling to london regularly to see opera , miss ferrier was actually answering the telephone , getting married to a bank manager and winning competitions for her piano - playing . " marriage ferrier met albert wilson in 1933 , probably through dancing , which they both loved . when she announced that they were to marry , her family and friends had strong reservations , on the grounds that she was young and inexperienced , and that she and wilson shared few serious interests . nevertheless , the marriage took place on 19 november 1935 . shortly afterwards the couple moved to , a small port town in cumberland , where wilson had been appointed as manager of his bank 's branch . the marriage was not successful ; the honeymoon had revealed problems of physical incompatibility , and the union remained unconsummated . in a tribute article written for the 50th anniversary of ferrier 's death , the journalist rupert christiansen wrote of ferrier 's sexuality that " there is absolutely no justification for the idea that she was a lesbian , but she may have been sexually frigid " . outward appearances were maintained for a few years , until wilson 's departure for military service in 1940 effectively ended the marriage . the couple divorced in 1947 , though they remained on good terms . wilson subsequently married a friend of ferrier 's , wyn hetherington ; he died in 1969 . early singing career in 1937 ferrier entered the carlisle festival open piano competition and , as a result of a small bet with her husband , also signed up for the singing contest . she easily won the piano trophy ; in the singing finals she sang roger quilter 's to daisies , a performance which earned her the festival 's top vocal award . to mark her double triumph in piano and voice , ferrier was awarded a special rose bowl as champion of the festival . after her carlisle victories , ferrier began to receive offers of singing engagements . her first appearance as a professional vocalist , in autumn 1937 , was at a harvest festival celebration in the village church at . she was paid one guinea . after winning the gold cup at the 1938 workington festival , ferrier sang ma curly - headed in a concert at workington opera house . cecil mcgivern , producer of a bbc northern radio variety show , was in the audience and was sufficiently impressed to book her for the next edition of his programme , which was broadcast from newcastle on 23 february 1939 . this broadcast — her first as a vocalist — attracted wide attention , and led to more radio work , though for ferrier the event was overshadowed by the death of her mother at the beginning of february . at the 1939 carlisle festival , ferrier sang richard strauss 's song all soul 's day , a performance which particularly impressed one of the adjudicators , j. e. hutchinson , a music teacher with a considerable reputation . ferrier became his pupil and , under his guidance , began to extend her repertoire to include works by bach , handel , brahms and elgar . when albert wilson joined the army in 1940 , ferrier reverted to her maiden name , having until then sung as ' kathleen wilson ' . in december 1940 she appeared for the first time professionally as ' kathleen ferrier ' in a performance of handel 's messiah , under hutchinson 's direction . in early 1941 she successfully auditioned as a singer with the council for the encouragement of the arts ( cema ) , which provided concerts and other entertainments to military camps , factories and other workplaces . within this organisation ferrier began working with artists with international reputations ; in december 1941 she sang with the hallé orchestra in a performance of messiah together with isobel baillie , the distinguished soprano . however , her application to the bbc 's head of music in manchester for an audition was turned down . ferrier had better fortune when she was introduced to malcolm sargent after a hallé concert in blackpool . sargent agreed to hear her sing , and afterwards recommended her to and tillett , the london - based concert management agency . john tillett accepted her as a client without hesitation after which , on sargent 's advice , ferrier decided to base herself in london . on 24 december 1942 she moved with her sister winifred into an apartment in frognal mansions , hampstead . stardom growing reputation ferrier gave her first london recital on 28 december 1942 at the national gallery , in a lunch - time concert organised by dame myra hess . although she wrote " went off very well " in her diary , ferrier was disappointed with her performance , and concluded that she needed further voice training . she approached the distinguished baritone roy henderson with whom , a week previously , she had sung in mendelssohn 's elijah . henderson agreed to teach her , and was her regular voice coach for the remainder of her life . he later explained that her " warm and spacious tone " was in part due to the size of the cavity at the back of her throat : " one could have shot a fair - sized apple right to the back of the throat without obstruction " . however , this natural physical advantage was not in itself enough to ensure the quality of her voice ; this was due , henderson says , to " her hard work , artistry , sincerity , personality and above all her character " . on 17 may 1943 ferrier sang in handel 's messiah at westminster abbey , alongside isobel baillie and peter pears , with reginald jacques conducting . according to the critic neville cardus , it was through the quality of her singing here that ferrier " made her first serious appeal to musicians " . her assured performance led to other important engagements , and to broadcasting work ; her increasingly frequent appearances on popular programmes such as forces favourites and housewives ' choice soon gave her national recognition . in may 1944 , at emi 's abbey road studios with gerald moore as her accompanist , she made test recordings of music by brahms , gluck and elgar . her first published record , made in september 1944 , was issued under the columbia label ; it consisted of two songs by maurice greene , again with moore accompanying . her time as a columbia recording artist was brief and unhappy ; she had poor relations with her producer , walter legge , and after a few months she transferred to decca . in the remaining wartime months ferrier continued to travel throughout the country , to fulfil the growing demands for her services from concert promoters . at leeds in november 1944 she sang the part of the angel in elgar 's choral work the dream of gerontius , her first performance in what became one of her best - known roles . in december she met john barbirolli while working on another elgar piece , sea pictures ; the conductor later became one of her closest friends and strongest advocates . on 15 september 1945 ferrier made her debut at the london proms , when she sang l 'air des from tchaikovsky 's opera the maid of orleans . although she often sang individual arias , opera was not ferrier 's natural forte ; she had not enjoyed singing the title role in a concert version of bizet 's carmen at stourbridge in march 1944 , and generally avoided similar engagements . nevertheless , benjamin britten , who had heard her westminster abbey messiah performance , persuaded her to create the role of lucretia in his new opera the rape of lucretia , which was to open the first postwar glyndebourne festival in 1946 . she would share the part with nancy evans . despite her initial misgivings , by early july ferrier was writing to her agent that she was " enjoying [ the rehearsals ] tremendously and i should think it 's the best part one could possibly have " . ferrier 's performances in the glyndebourne run , which began on 12 july 1946 , earned her favourable reviews , although the opera itself was less well received . on the provincial tour which followed the festival it failed to attract the public and incurred heavy financial losses . by contrast , when the opera reached amsterdam it was greeted warmly by the dutch audiences who showed particular enthusiasm for ferrier 's performance . this was ferrier 's first trip abroad , and she wrote an excited letter to her family : " the cleanest houses and windows you ever did see , and flowers in the fields all the way ! " following her success as lucretia she agreed to return to glyndebourne in 1947 , to sing orfeo in gluck 's opera orfeo ed euridice . she had often sung orfeo 's aria che farò ( " what is life " ) as a concert piece , and had recently recorded it with decca . at glyndebourne , ferrier 's limited acting abilities caused some difficulties in her relationship with the conductor , fritz ; nevertheless her performance on the first night , 19 june 1947 , attracted warm critical praise . ferrier 's association with glyndebourne bore further fruit when rudolf bing , the festival 's general manager , recommended her to bruno walter as the contralto soloist in a performance of mahler 's symphonic song cycle das lied von der erde . this was planned for the 1947 edinburgh international festival . walter was initially wary of working with a relatively new singer , but after her audition his fears were allayed ; " i recognised with delight that here potentially was one of the greatest singers of our time " , he later wrote . das lied von der erde was at that time largely unknown in britain , and some critics found it unappealing ; nevertheless , the edinburgh evening news thought it " simply superb " . in a later biographical sketch of ferrier , lord harewood described the partnership between walter and her , which endured until the singer 's final illness , as " a rare match of music , voice , and temperament . " career apex , 1948 – 51 on 1 january 1948 ferrier left for a four - week tour of north america , the first of three transatlantic trips she would make during the next three years . in new york she sang two performances of das lied von der erde , with bruno walter and the new york philharmonic . alma mahler , the composer 's widow , was present at the first of these , on 15 january . in a letter written the following day , ferrier told her sister : " some of the critics are enthusiastic , others unimpressed " . after the second performance , which was broadcast from coast to coast , ferrier gave recitals in ottawa and chicago before returning to new york and embarking for home on 4 february . during 1948 , amid many engagements , ferrier performed brahms 's alto rhapsody at the proms in august , and sang in bach 's mass in b minor at that year 's edinburgh festival . on 13 october she joined barbirolli and the hallé orchestra in a broadcast performance of mahler 's song cycle kindertotenlieder . she returned to the netherlands in january 1949 for a series of recitals , then left southampton on 18 february to begin her second american tour . this opened in new york with a concert performance of orfeo ed euridice that won uniform critical praise from the new york critics . on the tour which followed , her accompanist was sándor ( 1896 – 1972 ) , who was suffering from a depressive illness that badly affected his playing . unaware of his problem , in letters home ferrier berated " this abominable accompanist " who deserved " a kick in the pants " . when she found out that he had been ill for months , she turned her fury on the tour 's promoters : " what a blinking nerve to palm him on to me " . eventually , when sándor was too ill to appear , ferrier was able to recruit a canadian pianist , john newmark , with whom she formed a warm and lasting working relationship . shortly after her return to england early in june 1949 , ferrier left for amsterdam where , on 14 july , she sang in the world premiere of britten 's spring symphony , with eduard van beinum and the concertgebouw orchestra . britten had written this work specifically for her . at the edinburgh festival in september she gave two recitals in which bruno walter acted as her piano accompanist . ferrier felt that these recitals represented " a peak to which i had been groping for the last three years " . a broadcast of one of the recitals was issued on record many years later ; of this , the critic alan blyth wrote : " walter 's very personal and positive support obviously pushes ferrier to give of her very best " . the following 18 months saw almost uninterrupted activity , encompassing a number of visits to continental europe and a third american tour between december 1949 and april 1950 . this american trip broke new ground for ferrier — the west coast — and included three performances in san francisco of orfeo ed euridice , with pierre monteux conducting . at the rehearsals ferrier met the renowned american contralto marian anderson , who reportedly said of her english counterpart : " my god , what a voice — and what a face ! " on ferrier 's return home the hectic pace continued , with a rapid succession of concerts in amsterdam , london and edinburgh followed by a tour of austria , switzerland and italy . in vienna , the soprano elisabeth schwarzkopf was ferrier 's co - soloist in a recorded performance of bach 's mass in b minor , with the vienna symphony orchestra under herbert von karajan . schwarzkopf later recalled ferrier 's singing of the agnus dei from the mass as her highlight of the year . early in 1951 , while on tour in rome , ferrier learned of her father 's death at the age of 83 . although she was upset by this news , she decided to continue with the tour ; her diary entry for 30 january reads : " my pappy died peacefully after flu and a slight stroke " . she returned to london on 19 february , and was immediately busy rehearsing with barbirolli and the hallé a work that was new to her : ernest chausson 's poème de l 'amour et de la mer . this was performed at manchester on 28 february , to critical acclaim . two weeks later ferrier discovered a lump on her breast . she nevertheless fulfilled several engagements in germany , the netherlands and at glyndebourne before seeing her doctor on 24 march . after tests at university college hospital , cancer of the breast was diagnosed , and a mastectomy was performed on 10 april . all immediate engagements were cancelled ; among these was a planned series of performances of the rape of lucretia by the english opera group , scheduled as part of the 1951 festival of britain . later career failing health ferrier resumed her career on 19 june 1951 , in the mass in b minor at the royal albert hall . she then made her usual visit to the holland festival , where she gave four performances of orfeo , and sang in mahler 's second symphony with otto klemperer and the concertgebouw orchestra . through the summer her concert schedule was interspersed with hospital visits ; however , she was well enough to sing at the edinburgh festival in september , where she performed two recitals with walter and sang chausson 's poème with barbirolli and the hallé . in november she sang land of hope and glory at the reopening of manchester 's free trade hall , a climax to the evening which , wrote barbirolli , " moved everyone , not least the conductor , to tears " . after this , ferrier rested for two months while she underwent radiation therapy ; her only work engagement during december was a three - day recording session of folk songs at the decca studios . in january 1952 ferrier joined britten and pears in a short series of concerts to raise funds for britten 's english opera group . writing later , britten recalled this tour as " perhaps the loveliest of all " of his artistic associations with ferrier . despite continuing health problems , she sang in the st matthew passion at the royal albert hall on 30 march , messiah at the free trade hall on 13 april , and das lied von der erde with barbirolli and the hallé on 23 and 24 april . on 30 april ferrier attended a private party at which the new queen , elizabeth ii , and her sister , princess margaret , were present . in her diary , ferrier notes : " princess m sang — very good ! " . her health continued to deteriorate ; she refused to consider a course of androgen injections , believing that this treatment would destroy the quality of her voice . in may she travelled to vienna to record das lied and mahler 's rückert - lieder with walter and the vienna philharmonic ; singer and conductor had long sought to preserve their partnership on disc . despite considerable suffering , ferrier completed the recording sessions between 15 and 20 may . during the remainder of 1952 ferrier attended her seventh successive edinburgh festival , singing in performances of das lied , the dream of gerontius , messiah and some brahms songs . she undertook several studio recording sessions , including a series of bach and handel arias with sir adrian boult and the london philharmonic orchestra in october . in november , after a royal festival hall recital , she was distressed by a review in which neville cardus criticised her performance for introducing " distracting extra vocal appeals " designed to please the audience at the expense of the songs . however , she accepted his comments with good grace , remarking that " ... it 's hard to please everybody — for years i 've been criticised for being a colourless , monotonous singer " . in december she sang in the bbc 's christmas messiah , the last time she would perform this work . on new year 's day 1953 she was appointed a commander of the order of the british empire ( cbe ) in the queen 's new year honours list . final performances , illness and death as 1953 began , ferrier was busy rehearsing for orpheus , an english - language version of orfeo ed euridice to be staged in four performances at the royal opera house in february . barbirolli had instigated this project , with ferrier 's enthusiastic approval , some months previously . her only other engagement in january was a bbc recital recording , in which she sang works by three living english composers : howard ferguson , william wordsworth and edmund rubbra . during her regular hospital treatment she discussed with doctors the advisability of an oophorectomy ( removal of the ovaries ) , but on learning that the impact on her cancer would probably be insignificant and that her voice might be badly affected , she chose not to have the operation . the first orpheus performance , on 3 february , was greeted with unanimous critical approval . according to barbirolli , ferrier was particularly pleased with one critic 's comment that her movements were as graceful as any of those of the dancers on stage . however , she was physically weakened from her prolonged radiation treatment ; during the second performance , three days later , her left femur partially disintegrated . quick action by other cast members , who moved to support her , kept the audience in ignorance . although virtually immobilised , ferrier sang her remaining arias and took her curtain calls before being transferred to hospital . this proved to be her final public appearance ; the two remaining performances , at first rescheduled for april , were eventually cancelled . still the general public remained unaware of the nature of ferrier 's incapacity ; an announcement in the guardian stated : " miss ferrier is suffering from a strain resulting from arthritis which requires immediate further treatment . it has been caused by the physical stress involved in rehearsal and performance of her role in orpheus " . ferrier spent two months in university college hospital . as a result , she missed her cbe investiture ; the ribbon was brought to her at the hospital by a friend . meanwhile , her sister found her a ground - floor apartment in st john 's wood , since she would no longer be able to negotiate the many stairs at frognal mansions . she moved to her new home in early april , but after only seven weeks was forced to return to hospital where , despite two further operations , her condition continued to deteriorate . early in june she heard that she had been awarded the gold medal of the royal philharmonic society , the first female vocalist to receive this honour since muriel foster in 1914 . in a letter to the secretary of the society she wrote that this " unbelievable , wondrous news has done more than anything to make me feel so much better " . this letter , dated 9 june , is probably the last that ferrier signed herself . as she weakened she saw only her sister and a few very close friends , and , although there were short periods of respite , her decline was unremitting . she died at university college hospital on 8 october 1953 , aged 41 ; the date for which , while still hopeful of recovery , she had undertaken to sing frederick delius 's a mass of life at the 1953 leeds festival . ferrier was cremated a few days later , at golders green crematorium , after a short private service . she left an estate worth £ 15 , 134 , which her biographer maurice leonard observes was " not a fortune for a world - famous singer , even by the standards of the day " . assessment and legacy the news of ferrier 's death came as a considerable shock to the public . although some in musical circles knew or suspected the truth , the myth had been preserved that her absence from the concert scene was temporary . the opera critic rupert christiansen , writing as the 50th anniversary of ferrier 's death approached , maintained that " no singer in this country has ever been more deeply loved , as much for the person she was as for the voice she uttered " . her death , he continued , " quite literally shattered the euphoria of the coronation " ( which had taken place on 2 june 1953 ) . ian jack , editor of granta , believed that she " may well have been the most celebrated woman in britain after the queen . " among the many tributes from her colleagues , that of bruno walter has been highlighted by biographers : " the greatest thing in music in my life has been to have known kathleen ferrier and gustav mahler — in that order . " very few singers , lord harewood writes , " have earned so powerful a valedictory from so senior a colleague . " at a memorial service at southwark cathedral on 14 november 1953 the bishop of croydon , in his eulogy , said of ferrier 's voice : " she seemed to bring into this world a radiance from another world . " from time to time commentators have speculated on the directions ferrier 's career might have taken had she lived . in 1951 , while recovering from her mastectomy , she received an offer to sing the part of in wagner 's opera tristan und isolde at the 1952 bayreuth festival . according to christiansen she would have been " glorious " in the role , and was being equally sought by the bayreuth management to sing erda in the ring cycle . christiansen further suggests that , given the changes of style over the past 50 years , ferrier might have been less successful in the 21st century world : " we dislike low - lying voices , for one thing — contraltos now sound freakish and , and even the majority of mezzo - sopranos should more accurately be categorised as almost - sopranos " . however , she was " a singer of , and for , her time — a time of grief and weariness , national self - respect and a belief in human nobility " . in this context " her artistry stands upright , austere , unfussy , fundamental and sincere " . shortly after ferrier 's death an appeal was launched by barbirolli , walter , myra hess and others , to establish a cancer research fund in ferrier 's name . donations were received from all over the world . to publicise the fund a special concert was given at the royal festival hall on 7 may 1954 , at which barbirolli and walter shared the conducting duties without payment . among the items was a rendition of purcell 's when i am laid in earth , which ferrier had often sung ; on this occasion the vocal part was played by a solo cor anglais . the kathleen ferrier cancer research fund helped establish the kathleen ferrier chair of clinical oncology at university college hospital , in 1984 . as of 2012 , it was continuing to fund oncology research . as the result of a separate appeal , augmented by the sales proceeds of a memoir edited by neville cardus , the kathleen ferrier memorial scholarship fund was created to encourage young british and commonwealth singers of either sex . the fund , which has operated from 1956 under the auspices of the royal philharmonic society , initially provided an annual award covering the cost of a year 's study to a single prizewinner . with the advent of additional sponsors , the number and scope of awards has expanded considerably since that time ; the list of winners of ferrier awards includes many singers of international repute , among them felicity palmer , yvonne kenny , lesley garrett and bryn terfel . the kathleen ferrier society , founded in 1993 to promote interest in all aspects of the singer 's life and work , has since 1996 awarded annual bursaries to students at britain 's major music colleges . the society organised a series of events to commemorate the centenary of ferrier 's birth in 2012 . in february 2012 ferrier was one of ten prominent britons honoured by the royal mail in the " britons of distinction " stamps set . another was frederick delius . a biographic documentary film , kathleen ferrier , also known as la vie et l 'art de kathleen ferrier – le chant de la terre was directed by diane and produced by arte france in 2012 . it featured interviews with her near relatives , friends and colleagues to produce a fresh view of her life and contributions to the arts . kathleen ferrier crescent , in basildon , essex , is named in her honour . recordings ferrier 's discography consists of studio recordings originally made on the columbia and decca labels , and recordings taken from live performances which were later issued as discs . in the years since her death , many of her recordings have received multiple reissues on modern media ; between 1992 and 1996 decca issued the kathleen ferrier edition , incorporating much of ferrier 's recorded repertoire , on 10 compact discs . the discographer paul campion has drawn attention to numerous works which she performed but did not record , or for which no complete recording has yet surfaced . for example , only one aria from elgar 's dream of gerontius , and none of her renderings of 20th - century songs by holst , bax , delius and others were recorded . only a small part of her st john passion was captured on disc . the recording of the unaccompanied northumbrian folk song " blow the wind southerly " , initially made by decca in 1949 , has been reissued many times and frequently played on radio in shows such as desert island discs , housewives ' choice and your hundred best tunes . another signature aria , first recorded in 1944 and on numerous subsequent occasions , is " what is life ? " ( che farò ) from orfeo ed euridice . these records sold in large numbers rivalling those of other stars of the time , such as frank sinatra and vera lynn . in the 21st century ferrier 's recordings still sell hundreds of thousands of copies each year .