In the course of her professional life the English contralto Kathleen Ferrier made a large number of recordings. In the summer of 1944 she signed a contract with Columbia, which lasted until February 1946. She then transferred to Decca, and remained with them until her death in October 1953. Apart from her studio recordings, many of her live performances and broadcast recitals were recorded, sometimes privately. Some of these were later issued as commercial recordings; others are held by individuals or in the archives of broadcasting companies.