ONE of the world’s leading conductors has described Kathleen Ferrier as “a human torch who burns brightly even today”.

On the eve of the centenary of her birth, Carl Davis, who has performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras, said that it was very important that people remembered Kathleen Ferrier and where she came from.

He said: “Your reputation in the arts ultimately depends on your uniqueness. Kathleen Ferrier was very, very special – it was the quality of her voice that moved you.

“Although different in many ways, the nearest I could compare her to was someone like Judy Garland or Edith Piaf. As performers, whatever they did always grabbed you and it was the same with Kathleen Ferrier.

“She made a lot of recordings and while a lot of them weren’t of great quality, the great instrument that was her voice still shines through. She sang with such feeling.

“Even growing up as a boy in New York I always knew that the Ferrier sound was something very special and remains so today.”