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Countertenors

I think countertenors are great!!! Because they can sing like female alto and soprano beautifully. Their headtones, falsettos and the ranges of their voices are like women. It's like when you listen to them and you close your eyes you can't notice that they are actually men. I remember a countertenor that I had watched at Youtube. His name is Brian Asawa. He's an American countertenor even though his surname sounds like Japanese. He is known for singing works of Handel but in Youtube he sang an aria from one of Mozart's opera. He sang really well no doubt he won prestigious awards. He made me love countertenors more. I am just wondering if "castrati" is still practiced today? Do you think the voice quality of the countertenors will be much beautiful?

 

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Famous Countertenors of today

Hi Avrile, I am happy to know that you're beginning to appreciate countertenors. Here are some of the famous countertenors of today. First is Derek Lee Ragin, an American countertenor. Aside from being a master in vocal style, he also interprets contemporary music. His recent performance was March 22, 2007. Second is Hurley David, an English countertenor. He is the lead countertenor of the well known international group King's Singers. Third is Michael Chance, an English countertenor. He performed last year a Bangkok opera "Ayodhya". Last is Yuri Borisov, a Russian countertenor. He performed last August 2005 to one of world's famous festival the Edinburg Fringe. It is a series of eleven concerts of Russian art andf folk songs.

I agree to you that most countertenors sang repertoires from Baroque and Renaissance periods. They always sing arias and cantatas from the works of Handel, Purcell, Vivaldi and Scarlatti and many more. This is because during the Baroque period there is an increase of popularity of opera. Many operas were written with roles for castrati and countertenors were the one's who replace them.

I hope my answers to your questions made you more interested in listening to countertenors.

 

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Who sings more pure?

I think the question of who's more pure in singing depends on the person who sings and the one who listens to it. If a countertenor sings with a mixed choir, his voice might stick out from the group although this would depend on the conductor. If he/she is a good conductor, then he/she could make that person blend with the group. On the part of an alto, you couldn't just mix them to an all male choir because this will not sound good. So this just means that both countertenor and alto have differences. There is a thin line of distinction and limitation to where their voices belong. So the question of who sings more "pure" or who sings best depends because there are countertenors and altos who are good. We must remember that a male voice is different from a female's voice.

 

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Why do we need men with high voices?

Hi Andante, I agree that men with high voices sound pretty especially in children when they are trained well. They are like angels coming down from heaven. As for adult men like countertenors we need them because they prove that men could sing like women. They have that special gift to sing high notes. In my last reply I am not saying that we don't need men with high voices at all. What I'm just trying to say is that men are different from women. Men with high voices are good for solos. You could mix them with a choir but this depends on what type of choir. For example an all male choir. And to prove that men with high voices sounds good you should listen to the Kilyawan Boys Choir. The age range of the members of this choir is from 8 to 22.