Countertenor

A countertenor is an adult male who sings in an alto, mezzo or soprano range, often through use of falsetto, or sometimes natural head voice. This term is used almost exclusively in the context of the classical vocal tradition. The countertenor voice went through a massive resurgence in popularity in the second half of the 20th century, partly caused by pioneers such as Alfred Deller and by the increased popularity of Baroque opera and also due to a need of male singers to replace the castrati roles in opera. Although they have been considered largely an early music phenomenon, some modern countertenors explore a much larger repertoire.

History

In early polyphony, the contratenor was a voice part in melodic counterpoint against the tenor. It was written roughly in the same range as the tenor. In the 15th century, contratenor split into contratenor altus and contratenor bassus, which were respectively above and below the tenor. By the 16th century, however, the term became obsolete as Latin lost popularity. In Italy, the contratenor altus became simply alto; in France, haute-contre; in England, countertenor. This, however, is solely the source of the name. In music from the baroque period onwards they functioned as alto or soprano singers, not counterpoint to the tenor part.

Countertenors remained in the niche of sacred vocal music, in part because women were banned from singing in church services. However, they were not prominently featured in the rise of opera. The castrati were far more popular in the operas of Handel. Countertenors, however, did feature prominently in performances of Handel's oratorios: for example Messiah and Saul. On the other hand, prior to the arrival of Italian opera in England the countertenor had been a popular voice in a dramatic as well as in a sacred context. The semi-operas of Henry Purcell contain many countertenor roles, as do his ecclesiastical works, but the arrival of Italianate opera seria in England and the attendant castrati restricted countertenors to almost entirely church-based performances. As a result, the countertenor voice was found only in cathedral choirs and the occasional early music ensemble for a few centuries.

The most visible icon of the countertenor revival was Alfred Deller, an English singer and champion of authentic early music performance. Deller initially called himself an "alto", but his collaborator Michael Tippett recommended the archaic term "countertenor" to describe his voice. In the 1950s and 60s, his group, the Deller Consort, increased audiences' awareness of (and appreciation for) renaissance and Baroque music. Benjamin Britten wrote the role of Oberon in his setting of A Midsummer Night's Dream especially for him; the countertenor role of Apollo in Britten's Death in Venice was created by James Bowman. Deller was the first modern countertenor to achieve such celebrity, but he would not be the last. Russell Oberlin was Deller's American counterpart, and another early music pioneer. Oberlin's success was entirely unprecedented in a country that had seen little exposure to anything before Bach, and it paved the way for the next generation of countertenors.

Today, countertenors are much in demand in many forms of classical music. In opera, many roles originally written for castrati are now sung by countertenors, as are some trouser roles. Such roles now often recorded and performed by countertenors include Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice and many of the roles that Handel wrote for the castrati, such as the title roles in Giulio Cesare and Orlando. Modern composers write countertenor parts, both in choral works and opera. Men's choral groups such as Chanticleer and the King's Singers employ them to great effect in a variety of genres, including early music, gospel, and even folk songs. Roles in more modern operas written for the countertenor voice include the title role in Philip Glass's Akhnaten, the role of Edgar in Aribert Reimann's Lear, and the role of Trinculo in Thomas Adès's The Tempest.

The countertenor voice

Countertenors have their vocal center in the falsetto range, a range possessed by all males but which is developed and strengthened in the countertenor. A trained countertenor will typically have a vocal center similar in placement to that of a mezzo-soprano.[1] By way of contrast with other male voice types, tenors employ a mixture of falsetto and chest voice in their singing, while baritones and basses tend to use their chest voice exclusively.

Countertenors typically sing alto parts, in part because the higher end of the falsetto range tends to be limited, but also because countertenors usually possess a well-developed lower range. Those who focus, however, on singing soprano parts have been called sopranists, and can sometimes attain a tessitura approaching that of a coloratura soprano.

Male singers who due to physical and hormonal issues did not develop chest voices are referred to as endocrinological castratos.

See also

• Countertenors

References

• Peter Giles and J.B Steane: "Countertenor", Grove Music Online ed L. Macy (Accessed 31 January 2007), grovemusic.com, subscription access.

External links

• The (Un)official Countertenor Homepage
• The Countertenor Pages
• Voice Definitions and Ranges
• Male Altos (and Sopranos)