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Sopranos/Conratenores
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 4:44 pm
by devi (imported)
Re: Sopranos/Conratenores
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:10 pm
by tugon (imported)
I have a recording by Michael Maniaci "Mozart Arias For Male Soprano" that is enjoyable. My favorite countertenor is Andreas Scholl. Another interesting recording but by a female soprano is Cecilia Batoli "Sacrificium" World Premiere Castrato Arias. The booklet enclosed has some interesting information about the castrati. Now I am in the mood to listen to many of those recordings.
Re: Sopranos/Conratenores
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:18 pm
by devi (imported)
Had forgotten about Andreas and I'm sure a few others.
Re: Sopranos/Conratenores
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:09 pm
by Cainanite (imported)
What all of these male tenors and counter falsettos have in common is that in the higher register their singing comes off as forced.
I did some small amount of singing in choirs when I was a kid, and because I have a voice that didn't mature as quickly as other children, I trained myself to deepen my voice. So I know something slight of the muscles involved in changing the pitch or register of one's voice.
All these singers do the same thing. They tighten their vocal chords beyond what they are comfortable with. Think of Howie Mandell tightening his vocal chords to do his "Bobby" voice, or the guy who does the voice of Elmo on Sesame Street.
Can you sing this way? You betcha! You can actually become quite adept at it if you practice. What you will never get is that natural warmth to the sound. You are pitching your vocal chords out of their natural register, and with that will come the constrained sound we hear in all these clips.
From my limited understanding of the sound a Castrato was able to make, it was more akin to the high pure voice of a child like Jackie Evancho, but with the power behind it to rattle the roof. Jackie Evancho needs amplification to achieve anything like this, and she doesn't have the maturity to handle all the nuances. The Castrato, with the better wind of an adult, was able to achieve this without amplification, and without constraining their vocal chords.
Without singing I can do both, pull my vocals down to a very deep register, or up to a very high register. Don't ask me to sing anything, because I suck now. (nails on a chalkboard anyone?) My point is that with practice, most anyone can constrain their vocal chords to achieve a sound like the male sopranos do in these clips. Of course, they've practiced to perfect and hone their talent to an extraordinary level, but it still sounds forced.
I would love to hear a true example of the trained Castrati voice, but that is probably better left in the past. Still, you'd expect one or two of our membership to show up in the music world. Maybe one day.