Messiah by Haendel - He shall feed his flock - Norma Procter

[tarstan]

I became aware of Norma Procter indeed through Rule Britannia at the Last Night of the Proms 1970-something. The impression she made on me as a young teenager should have rung alarm bells for my mother... . Gorgeous voices.

[andigrim007]

@tarstan Should have?

[Tenortalker]

Thanks andigrim! Norma Proctor's Mahler was legendary, but i would cherish hearing some Brahms. Back in the late 1980's i slipped into the audience of a masterclass she was giving to young female singers at the RNCM. The class was mostly on Brahms lieder and her advice was as moving as her singing. I believe she taught for many years at Leeds College of Music. I was told that ill health brought her impressive international career to an early end. A pity!

[Tenortalker]

This may come as a surprise to those who only know Norma Proctor through 'Rule Britannia' at the Proms. She was a really fine singer and it would be nice to see more of her performances posted on youtube. Sheila Armstrong ( the soprano) was lovely too!

[andigrim007]

@Tenortalker I will try to clean up few Lieder by Brahms and Mahler

from an LP I still have.

I love her voice and personality!

[77Opera]

Quelle merveille!

[MrIV74]

Oh what a glorious voice. A new one to me... Thanks so much for this posting. The sound quality is extraordinary....

[rausy]

not only does Norma have a unusually beautiful regal tone she and Sheila Armstrong had amazing vocal and breath control. perfect pitch and legato

great singing and very musical. Wish I could reach such heights of vocal mastery.

[chokedad]

What a sublime performance. I have to say I had never really appreciated Norma Proctor's artistry before. What a voice! Not at all for baroque purists of course, and not at all what I was expecting of Stokowsky, either, who I thought would be too 'hammy'. Who is singing in 'Come unto Him?' Sheila Armstrong?

[madgeson]

What agreat voice! Thanks Norma!

[lmspr]

What an amazing voice. Norma Procter has a sound that's very similar to Maureen Forrester's. They both have that regal, totally gorgeous unique tone.

Thanks for uploading this.

[sirchpy]

I had forgotten Norma Procter's contralto voicehad was so touching.From the 50s to the 70s she was a fabulous oratorio singer. Her soft refrain of the first lines is meltingly wonderful. Only Janet Baker was so glorious. I remember Bernard Haitink streaming tears at a Prom in (I think) 1968 when she sang in his Britten's Spring Symphony. Rarely recorded,she overlapped with Ferrier, Morrison and Baker. Her Mahler was wonderful:happily caught on Horenstein's superb recording of Mahler 3. Thanks!!