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Exactly what do all these terms mean anyway: singers using mostly falsetto, or mostly modal voice?
Russell Oberlin was often quoted about this distinction for the term "countertenor" (although apparently he later felt uncomfortable about his earlier quote, in which the idea was that only the modal countertenor was a true countertenor). See
this book for a discussion: of the two early figures of the countertenor revival,
Alfred Deller was a falsettist, whereas
Russell Oberlin was a modal countertenor. The author (Ravens) notes that modal countertenors have gone almost extinct, although he also seems to imply that that was the older usage, and speculates that rising human height may be at fault for this – now going far enough according to him to make modal tenors rarer too. He does not mention any modal countertenors today.
Yoshikazu Mera might be one,
judging by this biography: He used to be criticized by one professor because he was not a real counter-tenor. That is because Yoshikazu had a high voice by nature.
If that's accurate, then that's an interesting shift in the idea of what a true countertenor is that would be really great to find a source for. And what would be interesting to know is: if "countertenor" now means falsetto, then what exactly do you call a male with a modal voice higher than tenor? Here the old term tenore contraltino is maybe relevant. Would a countertenor be asked to sing the tenor-altino role of the Astrologer in Le coq d'or (which goes up to E5)? Rimsky-Korsakov (the composer) accepted falsetto for it, but he seems to have thought that tenor-altino was something different (maybe a modal voice?). I notice that William Matteuzzi ( tenore contraltino) and Russell Oberlin (modal countertenor) both sang up to F5 as far as I'm aware on recordings and on stage. Maybe it's not that there are no modal countertenors anymore, but that "countertenor" has shifted in meaning to mean primarily falsetto, and men with a range noticeably higher than tenor are now called leggiero tenors and at the upper extreme put under the classification of tenore contraltino? Is it partly a matter of repertoire? (Arturo in Bellini's I puritani is a tenor role, but it actually goes to F5, higher than the alto cantata Widerstehe doch der Sünde of Bach that tops out at C5.) Then is there a term for someone like Mera who has gone up to G5 (see his recording of Ave Maria)? (And after all, Oberlin sounds like he had a higher tessitura than Matteuzzi.) I see sopranist mentions this kind of debate about whether "male soprano" should include falsettists or only include modal voices.
Sorry for so many questions. I am just very confused and would love to know if reliable sources sort out this mess. Or if it remains a mess just because males with modal voices higher than tenor are now so rare that no one worried about it. ^_^ Double sharp ( talk) 00:42, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
If I want to watch FOX sports channel on my TV , I need to pay money. For FM radio channel, I need not pay any money to listen it. Why so? Man Floor ( talk) 15:45, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
So FM Channel users need not pay money because those channels don't use satelites to broadcast? Am I correct? Man Floor ( talk) 02:40, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
Entertainment desk | ||
---|---|---|
< November 2 | << Oct | November | Dec >> | November 4 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Entertainment Reference Desk Archives |
---|
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
Exactly what do all these terms mean anyway: singers using mostly falsetto, or mostly modal voice?
Russell Oberlin was often quoted about this distinction for the term "countertenor" (although apparently he later felt uncomfortable about his earlier quote, in which the idea was that only the modal countertenor was a true countertenor). See
this book for a discussion: of the two early figures of the countertenor revival,
Alfred Deller was a falsettist, whereas
Russell Oberlin was a modal countertenor. The author (Ravens) notes that modal countertenors have gone almost extinct, although he also seems to imply that that was the older usage, and speculates that rising human height may be at fault for this – now going far enough according to him to make modal tenors rarer too. He does not mention any modal countertenors today.
Yoshikazu Mera might be one,
judging by this biography: He used to be criticized by one professor because he was not a real counter-tenor. That is because Yoshikazu had a high voice by nature.
If that's accurate, then that's an interesting shift in the idea of what a true countertenor is that would be really great to find a source for. And what would be interesting to know is: if "countertenor" now means falsetto, then what exactly do you call a male with a modal voice higher than tenor? Here the old term tenore contraltino is maybe relevant. Would a countertenor be asked to sing the tenor-altino role of the Astrologer in Le coq d'or (which goes up to E5)? Rimsky-Korsakov (the composer) accepted falsetto for it, but he seems to have thought that tenor-altino was something different (maybe a modal voice?). I notice that William Matteuzzi ( tenore contraltino) and Russell Oberlin (modal countertenor) both sang up to F5 as far as I'm aware on recordings and on stage. Maybe it's not that there are no modal countertenors anymore, but that "countertenor" has shifted in meaning to mean primarily falsetto, and men with a range noticeably higher than tenor are now called leggiero tenors and at the upper extreme put under the classification of tenore contraltino? Is it partly a matter of repertoire? (Arturo in Bellini's I puritani is a tenor role, but it actually goes to F5, higher than the alto cantata Widerstehe doch der Sünde of Bach that tops out at C5.) Then is there a term for someone like Mera who has gone up to G5 (see his recording of Ave Maria)? (And after all, Oberlin sounds like he had a higher tessitura than Matteuzzi.) I see sopranist mentions this kind of debate about whether "male soprano" should include falsettists or only include modal voices.
Sorry for so many questions. I am just very confused and would love to know if reliable sources sort out this mess. Or if it remains a mess just because males with modal voices higher than tenor are now so rare that no one worried about it. ^_^ Double sharp ( talk) 00:42, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
If I want to watch FOX sports channel on my TV , I need to pay money. For FM radio channel, I need not pay any money to listen it. Why so? Man Floor ( talk) 15:45, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
So FM Channel users need not pay money because those channels don't use satelites to broadcast? Am I correct? Man Floor ( talk) 02:40, 4 November 2020 (UTC)