Born: England

The English contralto, Marjorie Thomas, had a warm, enveloping mezzo voice that graced the opera house and the concert platform in England for more than two decades after the War. She was often heard in Messiah, which she undertook in Thomas Beecham's second recording (in 1947), and she was a noted Angel in The Dream of Geronlius, which she sang to notable effect in Malcolm Sargent's second recording of the work. In her recording of possibly the most famous aria from Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248), her tone even, her style affecting, ever a pleasure on the ear. She later taught at the the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Source: Liner notes to the album 'Stars Of English Oratorio, Vol. 2' (Dutton, 1998)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (June 2006)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Reginald Jacques

Alto

BWV 6, BWV 140

Stanford Robinson

Alto

Aria from BWV 248

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