[zlya]

There are no castratis alive today, at least in the Western world. Castrating men to preserve their singing voices is a practice which died out in the 19th Century. There is only one recording of a castrato, Alessandro Moreschi, from the early 20th Century. Unfortunately, Moreschi wasn't a terribly good castrato, just the only one around when the primitive recording equipment came to the Sistine Chapel. More often than not the recording sounds like a dying cat.

If there were living Indian castrati I would be very much surprised (and slightly shocked).

 

[Guest]

In fact, you are right. He was not a castrati. I only suppose that his voice has never changed, and there are probably many reasons for that phenomenon that I ignore. But I suppose also that the result, ie the beauty of the voice, in fine, is the same…

 

[dexter]

Countertenor

In my opinion, countertenors are great. These are men who can sing a high tenor voice through the use of falsetto or sometimes natural head tone. If there is no available female, the countertenor can replace the part of the alto, mezzo or soprano range. Also, a trained countertenor is more similar to a mezzo-soprano. I experienced listening to a countertenor recording and it amazes me. Just close your eyes and you will forget that a real guy is singing.

 

[Amy]

I agree with you, Dexter, as I personally find that female altos lack the purity in tone that countertenors have. I'm very much into early choral music and the idea of Monteverdi's madgrigals being performed by a group using anything other than at least one countertenor seems quite frankly peculiar...

 

[music2]

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.

 

[zlya]

I disagree with your preference, Amy, but for the same reason. What you call "purity" I tend to hear as lack of depth. I think a female alto has a lot more richness and potential for expressiveness than a countertenor. But then, my idea of the ultimate alto sound is the sexy late romantic alto, though I also prefer Purcell sung by ladies.

 

[Guest]

I disagree with your preference, Amy, but for the same reason. What you call "purity" I tend to hear as lack of depth. I think a female alto has a lot more richness and potential for expressiveness than a countertenor. But then, my idea of the ultimate alto sound is the sexy late romantic alto, though I also prefer Purcell sung by ladies.

I completely agree with you, I much prefer Altos and I think the poor old castrati and later the Counter Tenors were used because Females were not accepted in the church so the vocal tradition carries on, I also much prefer Sopranos to boy trebles in choral works they have maturity and feeling.

 

[music2]

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.

 

[Guest]

We must remember that a male voice is different from a female's voice.

Quite correct so why do we need men with high voices

 

[Morigan]

Because it's pretty.

 

[Guest]

Because it's pretty.

LOL pretty what???

 

[Saturnus]

Counter-tenors can sing very beautifully, with qualities a woman can never achieve (and vice versa). Just listen to Robin Blaze...

 

[music2]

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.

 

[Guest]

Music2, I am only playing devils advocate, it brings in other points of view from some who may be a bit shy
but personally I really do prefer sopranos in choral works, the choir of Christs Collage and others have had to admit woman into the choirs and in my opinion it is a better balanced sound, having heard them live it has much more depth and feeling.

 

[fox_druid]

i do love countertenor very much. And about castrato, of course you will never find something like that anymore in this mundane world. I think castrato is a sacred, divine thing, a sacrifice for divinity. i dont think that it has any relationship to the sex discrimination, i think it's just a matter of tradition and the beauty itself. I really disagree with those who thinks that countertenor is silly or funny, only for gay, an example of female discrimination, and many other unprovable subjective opinion.

 

[Astus]

I love countertenors

There is almost nothing quite so uniquely beautiful as the voices of Mr Scholl or Mr Jaroussky or Mr Pushee (to name a very small few!). Yes, I would say that the countertenor is perhaps an aquired taste, but I personally love the ethereal timbre and almost otherworldly feel of this male voice.

I also think that, particularly in the operas of such composers as Handel, it it wonderful to have a male playing roles like Rinaldo or Giulio Cesare, the gender for which they were initially written.

Long live the countertenor! If I were not a soprano, I would (somehow) want to be a countertenor

 

[tenor02]

they key to counter tenors is that they have to be more than just have a higher voice- they've still got to be musicians (in the entire word). I was able to sing at Disney World for their Candle Light Processional (big Christmas show) and had to sing in front of a counter and he was absolutely horrible. Always off pitch, kinda flat, it was obvious he really didnt know what he was doing. Result = terrible sound lol. So my exposure to counter's in real life isint good...yet.

 

[Yagan Kiely]

I don't like the sound of boys (or girls), and countertenors remind me of them toomuch (Similar Timbre).

However,

I like the last male better than the real Soprano.

 

[Mad Ludwig]

The first time I heard a countertenor was in "The Messiah", he sang the soprano part and I found it not too enjoyable. This was no "hip" wersion; it was a symphony orchestra with a choir of five hundred so why they made this chioce is still a puzzle. I tried closing my eyes and that didn't make any difference, it still didn't sound right. The fact that he looked very much like the late Jim Nabors, a TV personality of the time was no help.
One of my favorite vaocal ensembles is the male a cappella group, Chanticleer. Four alto, four tenors two baritones, two bass singers. I have sen them live many times, have most of their recordings, and put them beside the Tallis Scholars. They did the Palestrina Requiem, dedicated by Palestrina to Pope Gregory. It was the only recording of this music, at least then, and it is far and away my favorite. I have all of the requiems by all the major composers and this brief but brilliant piece just sweeps them away. The first disc by them that I bought is "Sing We Christmas" and with it I lost any interest in a shelf of classical and popular holiday music. It is Christmas to me where the "Festival of Lesons and Carols" used to be "it", no offense to the Kings College Chapel Choir.
To use an a cappella choir for Verdi's Requiem would be insane but for some music, less is more. I have a recording by John Aler which is sublime; he vocalizes "Vocalize" by Rach. with great effect. So, I'd vote in favor of countertenors any day. As long as they achieve their art by non-surgical means!

 

[miamibachfan]

Well, I like GOOD counter-tenors, but isn't that the same with anything? Heh.

BTW, if you've never heard Reggie Mobley, you must! He's quite amazing. The only clip I can find is him singing gospel, but his Bach is out of this world!

Enjoy!