I was a professional singer as a bass/baritone having been a boy alto. Very early in my career I took part in a series of performances of Bach's Magnificat, singing g the bass aria. At one performance our (female) alto failed to appear, and nobody from the (amateur) choir was willing to step forward. Having sung the alto aria as a boy, I volunteered to sing the alto part in falsetto. It probably sounded less than perfect, but we were able to perform the concert.😁

I was once accompanying a voice lesson in which the instructor was explaining falsetto to the student, saying that it meant using only half the vibrating length of the vocal cords. When the student looked puzzled at this, remembering that he was also a guitarist, I spoke up, asking "do you ever play harmonics on the guitar?" "Yeah, sure, all the time!" he answered. So I said "this is doing that with your vocal cords." Realization dawned visibly on his face!

I really REALLY appreciate the objectivity to your explanations. My vocal coach was one who subscribed to the school of thought that falsetto and head voice were different because of the anatomical mechanisms needed to produce both voices. When I was a newer student of his, he would often say "you're slipping out of falsetto into head voice", and over time I would feel the difference. But then encountering other singers, I realized they came from the falsetto=head voice school of thought. It is a great conversation every time. #TeamCountertenor

A colleague of mine was a huge guy - 6’5" or 6’6" (196-198cm) tall and very heavy. He was a deep bass with a dark timbre. After I had sung with him for several years, he decided he wanted to be a countertenor instead. When he first performed as a countertenor, everyone was shocked; he had a very light, clear, focused sound. Nothing at all like his bass voice. It took a bit of getting used to seeing this giant guy singing a lilting soprano aria, but he was quite good at it. Unfortunately, roles for countertenors are rather scarce in the world of modern opera, so he ended up changing careers. I’ve only ever performed in one opera that used a countertenor in a lead role. It was Jonathan Dove’s "Flight." It didn’t really go over well with the audience; I think the opera was musically strange enough that having the lead male character sounding like a soprano was a bit too much for most in the audience.

One important factor you didn’t mention is that historically, boys’ voices changed much later than they do now. Bach had “boy” sopranos as old as 18 or 19, which would have eliminated much of the perceived issue with using boys for difficult music.

I sang as a boy chorister in an all male English cathedral choir - we always called the men who sang the alto part "altos". It was only years later when I was chatting with an older friend who sang in another choir that I learned the term "countertenor" - he looked quite horrified when I used the term "alto" to refer to male singers.

As a voice teacher, I am very favorably impressed by the accuracy of your explanations, and I also enjoyed the animations which added up for clarity. I'll surely share this video among my students.

PDQ Bach made usage of yet another vocal part - the bargain counter tenor.

Countertenors definitely don't just use their falsetto. Anything lower than middle C would likely be inaudible singing over an orchestra. Blending and chest voice are definitely still used.

Thank you, counter-tenor is my favorite classical male voice, ever since I heard it for the first time at the Québec Summer Music festival. The late Allan Fast was performing at a gorgeous old church in Old Québec City, te setting and sound was perfection ❤

I sometimes forget that people in the enlightenment had their hands in so many pools at the same time, Jean-Jacques Rousseau commenting on high tenors shouting

Great! Then again, I would say that, since you agree pretty-much with everything I wrote in my book 'The Supernatural Voice'! Just two points I might have added. First, we should be wary of making a sharp distinction between 'chest' and 'falsetto' singers, since before the 19th century the majority of vocal methods encouraged singers to use (and blur) BOTH types of production. So, if we ask the question 'did Purcell's countertenors sing in chest or falsetto', we're really posing a false dilemma. Second, many of the problems we have with accepting that high tenors could have sung alto lines, or falsettists could have sung Bach's soprano lines, stem from assuming that physiologically modern man is the same as historical man. Throughout history (and with a marked recent acceleration) men have been growing taller. Since there is a proven inverse correlation between human height and vocal pitch (full evidence provided in my book!) the average Renaissance or Baroque man would have been able to sing higher in their modal ('chest') voices. Keep the good work going, Elam!

Found this presentation to be quite informative. Singing well in the countertenor requires actual physical development. I know that whenever I try to sing something that requires me to extend my range upward for even just an occasional note I must really warm up my voice. If I don't, I can expect the onset of a migraine the next day.

Countertenors in history did use their chest voice and not head voice. There were two parts: A low voice (like bass) that sang high (like a singing bass) and a high voice that sang low (like a tenor singing low). Both sang on the same range. First only this "high singing bass" was called countertenor. Later a "contratenor bassus" was added who sang a little bit deeper. At this time the "high singing bass" was called "contratenor altus". In England the development was little bit different. Today falsetto is a head voice without support of the chest. It is only suitable for very high notes. A good countertenor sings head voice with chest support. Who sings head voice only as falsetto is a bad pseudo-countertenor, like most.

One thing to keep in mind is also the physiological development at the time, probably influenced by nutrition and living standards. Men's voices changed much later (Johann Mattheson born 1681 played women roles in 1696, aged 15 and only later changed voice) or in some cases not at all.

Countertenor singing has improved significantly since I started out. They are just more dependable and there's less need to worry that something will go wrong.

I remember hearing the late Michael Jackson's vocal coach saying Michael Jackson was a baritone. But I guess he preferred to sing with falsetto as a countertenor.

Excellent program. I started my career as a Soprano choir boy and (over the next 50+ years) have slowly made my way through counter tenor, tenor, and baritone. Thanks so much for providing such quality programs.

Fascinating! Always excited to see a new upload from you!

Did the castrati often wear special hats to distinguish themselves from contratenors and boys? 😂

What a great video!! Educational, informative and wholly entertaining!! How I wish I had videos like these when I was studying music all those years ago. Thank you!!😊🌺🎶💕

Today, one of the best examples of a true countertenor is Mitch Grassi from Pentatonix - even his low, chest voice is comparable to a female contralto range, and he can go as high - if not higher - than many sopranos. And he can do it effortlessly.

As a Tenor, this was extremely interesting and highly informative!

I remember, when I was a little girl, before puberty hit, I could hit everything from tenor to soprano comfortably. When I turned 10, the tenor bit immediately became unusable, with my lowest note being Eb3(Eb below middle C). But the Soprano part died down gradually. I could reach F# above the treble staff several years ago. Now, I'm lucky if I can reach C above the treble staff and at that high, it sounds more like a squeak than a soprano voice. My soprano became unusable for singing as well as very restricted. So I'm basically stuck in the alto range for the rest of my life. But, I have heard what I might describe as a female tenor, being described as contralto, literally octave below alto(like how contrabass in instruments means octave below bass). And then there are those that prefer saying it the way I usually do, female tenor.

As always, great video. I only wish that it was longer, but that's something I can say about almost all of your videos. Thanks Dr. Rotem, et al.

You're always the best! Well done!

well I thought I was going to hear countertenor singing... got this fascinating summary instead... and liked it! :)

An enjoyable post, thanks for it. What I like about countertenors i that there voice has the high range with the full strength of an adult's lungs.

thank you Elam , you´re great!

I really really love this channel

Falseto and head register are definitely not the same thing. Falseto refers to using only the tips of the vocal chords while the head register,which can be further divided, has to do with employing certain cavities in the head as "sound boxes" and is used by all voices male and female. While falseto can be very annoying due to lack of overtones, the head register employed by a trained singer gives a full and satisfying sound. A good counter tenor or "falsetista" as they were called in the past does both at the same time as well as employing the chest mix in the lower areas of his falseto. By the way, it's called "the chest mix" because we never actually use only the chest. The percentage of head/chest varies of course but even in the lowest areas the sound has to pass through what we call "the mask". This is the reason why after accidents where there is permanent damage in the sinuses and/or the surrounding area, people have difficulty to make their voice heard although the mouth and the chords may remain intact.

good info. Thank you.

Thanks for another great, informative video. Love your work. Wish you expand more into podcasting or something like that as well reach. I'm rooting for you guys :)

Didn’t expect that topic from the hints! 😜

Nowadays almost all of the countertenors are trained to use their chest voice. For instance, Franco Fagioli sings over 3,5 octave in one aria

is there a source for italian documentals of this type? I just started learning italian and I'm having a tough time forcing the language into my daily routine, and these kind of topics would certainly inspire me to listen to italian frequently. Thanks man, still a lifetime fan of this channel.

your chart of the four basic SATB ranges should show that tenor and alto also overlap. The word Alto (or Altus) means 'high,' as in 'altitude,' ergo the range is named in reference to the male singer.

Falsetto can also be used in tenor and baritone ranges. by building a foundation in lower registration the falsetto becomes the strongest, most versitle register with 3 octives available and the loudest at Wagnerian levels.

Great video!

Very interesting!

Good explanation.

As usual, this was fanstatic. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!! I was wondering if you knew anything about "Tenore Altinos"? I read about them in a vocal pedagogy book from the mid 20th century. According to the book, they were a rare voice type that had "androgynous" speaking/singing voices and the range of a countertenor, but employed their modal voice (chest voice as you've defined it) throughout their entire range. The description makes me think of Russell Oberlin, who famously described himself as a high tenor despite being classified as a countertenor. Do tenore altinos exist in a historical context?

Really great graphics.

very interesting indeed!

You should talk about the music from Latin America during the renaissance or baroque period. Excellent quality in all of your videos.

GRAZIE, SEI BRAVISSIMO

I love the singing of countertenor. Indeed, it is a new way in male singing. A modern movie song "A Time for Us" is a lovely one... (Searchable on YT)

yey! a new video 😁

In Richard's Dana Two years before the mast, recounting a voyage from 1834, he write about sailor's singing beautifully among them someone with a falsetto voice. So perhaps the tradition of falsetto singing was even common in the early 19th century (at least among sailors).

Magnificent

On page 9 of "New Treatise on the Art of Singing" (French ed 1847, English ed 1880), Manuel Garcia wrote "Contraltino (Counter- Tenor,) - one third above the Tenor, being the highest in the male vocal scale". I think this indicates that "Tenorino" was used as "Counter-Tenor" until middle 19th century. Garcia also wrote that the upper limit of chest voice of "Counter-Tenor" is Bb4 to C5, matching with the passaggio of Tenorino.

Subscribed!

More interesting information. I had thought that castrati were maybe a bigger, longer deal than they were.

Enjoyed that - would have liked to hear a bit of vocal counter-tenor recording though.

Back when my voice was good, I could seamlessly extend my light/choral/“early” voice well into the alto range. Maybe I was singing almost everything in “head voice”. For solos or more modern louder music I had an ordinary tenor range.

Regarding J.S. Bach’s vocal music: Bach re-worked many secular arias for use in sacred contexts. Female sopranos - including Bach’s second wife, Anna Magdalena - will have performed the secular versions, but not the sacred ones. This suggests that the exclusive use of male voices in Bach’s sacred works was purely a social convention of the time. It doesn’t appear to represent some musical-aesthetic preference for a male voice type on Bach’s part.

Thanks for the video and the presented information! It's definitely an important subject to be discussed, and a vast one at that, so I don't envy you for the task of boiling it down to a short video. However, I miss some aspects that to me are crucial in the quest for adequate rendition of countertenor parts: While you mention near the beginning of the video that there's some terminological confusion over ‘falsetto’ and other words for vocal registers, you continue using a near-binary distinction between chest voice and falsetto. Even in traditional bel canto technique, that distinction is of very limited use and in my opinion doesn't aid understanding e.g. the way an operatic tenor transitions into the higher part of his tessitura. There is a wealth of ways in which different physiological aspects play together to produce what we call ‘registers’; they can't even be assigned on a two-dimensional spectrum, let alone be fit into binary categories. We can see from other non-classical and foreign styles of singing that depending on formation, even the distinction between male and female voices can blur or disappear. From what I gather, it would be necessary to do away with preconceptions like viewing falsettist technique as fundamentally different from what tenors, baritones and basses do. In terms of balance and blend it seems very interesting to me to pursue an idea of all those male voice types existing on a continuous spectrum, with only gradual and no fundamental differences. Voix mixte is a key term to me. The other aspect that would warrant much more (practical and theoretical) research is looking at the tessiture of alto parts, how they fit into those considerations on register, how they compare to other voice types/parts and how they evolved over time. What do we make of the gradual shift from, say, Josquin, whose alto parts are very close in range to tenor parts, to Bach or Handel, whose alto parts use much less of the ‘chest voice’ territory and extend far higher up? And finally, what about overall volume? Sweet voix mixte type singing, as is popular with modern a capella ensembles, doesn't project well enough in many situations and has narrow limits regarding the kind of emotional message it can convey at all, while the modern operatic approach to blending registers obviously fits neither historic attitudes/mentalities nor the descriptions of changing style (ut de poitrine etc). But again, thanks for the information and for laying a foundation for further delving into these matters.

Klaus Nomi was my first awareness of the countertenor voice.

Thanks!

"Very complex" indeed! Nevertheless you packed a lot of information into a short video. I have recently become engrossed by the beautiful voice of Jakub Josef Orlinski hence my interest here. Thank you for your presentation. Blessings and peace

I was a treble before my voice broke, then a year of baritone while my voice was still creaky and unreliable, the joy of being a teenage boy, then I sang boy alto, a part I loved. Anyway, does the treble range translate directly to the soprano range?

As I can speak as a male vocalist, head voice is a transitional voice between chest and falsetto. I can easily sing from head voice to chest voice through the passagio with ease and no breaks. But falsetto to head voice doesn't work.

Thank you!

In Handel's "Serse" (Xerxes), the title role is a countertenor. The aria, "Ombra Mai Fu" is a standard for countertenors.

Are countertenors any voice type who sing solely in their falsetto registers??? Thanks for video it was very informative.

Splendid summation! I wrote to Tim saying that this seems like "Countertenors for Dummies", but in 12 minutes you pretty much covered the most important points! As a male alto myself (and yes, the "name game" is also an important topic to cover if you had more than 12 minutes), I found a few things I'd have wanted to have you elaborate on (like the fact that "modern" countertenors exclusively use falsetto - many examples of the stars like Deller or Scholl going into chest when there are too many low ledger lines), but as an introduction, you hit all the important points. Bravo!

Thank you, from a countertenor. :)

The "English Choral Tradition" as we know it today really came from SS Wesley and was only perfected in the 19th century.

Very interesting! Now, what is the deal with oktavists?

Elam Rotem, am I right in thinking you are a speaker of Hebrew? If so, I wonder if you could enlighten me on something that I have been wondering about every now and then. How does written music (which I have only ever seen going from left to right) go together with a script that runs from right to left?

As a "haute-contre" I can confirm the distinction from counter-tenors - I can't do falsetto, for one, I only have mixed voice somehow. But I can belt in the top of my range, so choirs like having me reinforcing male voices that usually go weaker in that range. And indeed, I'm never going to be a soloist...

Some time ago for a laugh I performed a Mozart duet from Don Giovanni "la ci darem la mano" singing both parts, baritone and soprano in their proper registers. Difficult for an untrained singer but not impossible, however I do not think I could repeat it nowadays, like Ian Anderson my voice is somewhat cracked in my latter days.

1:12 - to understand the registers in male voices, one things should be known - when we use the term "Falsetto", it refers to a technique that men can use to shorten the vibrating part of their vocal cords. When we sing, the entire vocal cord resonates, top to bottom. Falsetto is a technique where men can shorten the vocal cord to produce notes in higher registers. Their head voice (higher notes which, when properly sung, feel as if they resonate in the head) overlaps with the falsetto. Head voice is something distinct from falsetto, though the two may blend together. It's producing sound which is higher in frequency, but which does not require the use of techniques mentioned above, in deliberately shortening the resonating part of the vocal cords. It's often called head voice because when sung properly it will feel as if it resonates in the head. As a baritone I, personally, could sing moderately high notes (for me) in my head voice, but there are some which I could either in falsetto or in head voice. | overlap | Head voice: ___________________________ Falsetto: ______________________________________

So it seems that some countertenors of the 15th and 16th century were not so different from me: depending on the balance needs in my choir sometimes I sing baritone, sometimes tenor, and sometimes alto (in falsetto).

"Highly controversial." You made me laugh, thank you.

Countertenors did sing major roles in German baroque operas - which could be quite demanding, by the way.

I'm a countertenor ( D2-H4-C6-E6)

It's extraordinary how the Renaissance and Baroque authorities loved to classify absolutely everything - the Dictionnaire era

This has helped clear up some confusion! As an aside, I've often found it curious that so many alto parts are nowadays sung by countertenors instead of women, as if the opera directors were afraid that casting a woman in a man's role would confuse the audience. Or is it just that there aren't very many women altos?

I'm a high tenor. I'm an honorary ancient countertenor.

Another great episode! Thank you! If someone wants to dive into the history of high male singing, Simon Raven's book "A supernatural voice" is a great resource :)

I just discovered your channel and love it. I have a question for you: Do you believe that musically speaking, a young male to female transgender who has used puberty blockers and later on gets fully operated - or at least gets his testicles removed -may have the capability to sing just like the former castrati? There are so many young transgenders ourdays and we only speak about them when they join the girl school basketball team ... What about joining the school choir?

Very interesting, the conclusion (at least for me) Is that in reality, it's a very new sound that until this day has not being explored. Can you recommend me pieces for original countertenor-parts, or sites where I can study about their characteristics?

I had a friend in college who's natural voice was in the counter tenor range and falsetto put some lyric soprano's to shame.

My impression is that Andrew Parrott has been performing early music broadly in line with your research for some time.

When a video of Carlo Gesualdo?

A note on the Catholic Church's employment of castrati-you noted that the practice of castration was illegal and castrati ostracized für their deviant appearance. Where would they have found gainful employment in that society? It seems to me that, while abhorring the practice, it is an act of charity to employ castrati for the one thing that was left to then in society; viz., musicmaking.

The `cold genius' in Purcell´s King Arthur and Nero in Poppea are sung by countertenors does this mean they were originally meant to be sung by castrati?

great video as always! is 07:29 referring to Glass' Akhnaten?

Falsetto=small throat ('fauces' as in 'faucet') The throat acts as a kind of faucet for air.

Than you!, tell us about the "sopranists"

The fact that the Church did employ those voices doesn't mean that the Church is guilty of encouraging the practice of castration. The Church did that, yes for the music, but also by charity. Indeed, one of the best chance for those castrated boys to be well integrated in society was to be employed as singers. Would you find it just to deny those boys a life, even if it is in order to not encourage castration? So it is here a case where the concern for the individual takes precedence over the societal concern. For example, it is just to not buy exotic animals in order to not encourage poaching, but this is because we care more about the general population of animals than about the individual animals in the market (which will probably die miserably if they are not bought). The same thing cannot be applied to human beings, because each individual person is valuable. For that same reason it would be a good thing to buy a slave in order to give him back his freedom, despite the fact buying him means encouraging slavery. So yes, employing castrati was justified, for the good of the individuals involved, despite the fact that it encouraged castration on some level.

I know that it's tempting to say that « Haute-contre roles in french operas and some Counter-tenor roles in english operas were sung by HIGH Tenors » due to their often restricted and high tessitura. However, I personally have not found any CONTEMPORARY assertion that Haute-contre singers: Clédière, Dumesny, Chopelet, Boutelou, Cochereau, Murayre, Tribou, Jélyotte, Bérard, Poirier, La Tour, Pillot, Legros, &c.... were just simply (and at all) « high » Tenors. I think that the « high » qualification is a relative oversimplification that doesn't take into account the technique that these singers used. I understand that you can't develop it in this video. Maybe in a part II in which you talk about the Haute-contre as a repertoire ? :) I have not found any document before the 1830's that describes the Haute-contres' technique. The only one I found was a definition of the voice by Alexandre Choron who synonymed it to the Tenore contraltino (XIXth century, Rossinian term). It was for him a high Tenor who mostly remained nailed in a higher tessitura, with the resort to the mixed voice, which always needed to be trained to have a passable quality. Given the fact that singing technique in France by now has become so italianate, I'm not sure if we could completely rely on that source. In any case, I think that our current approach to that repertoire is akin to that. Although I'm quite pleased with it, I think there is still some mystery over the technique of the HC. Massive thanks to Tim and Lisandro for their contribution.

now I know, bcs when I sing my most preferred to use is falsetto but it's sometimes akward to the ears of others that they think I have a girl voice, but that's where I'm comfortable and feel that I can change the taste of the song. am I right?

My favorite countertenors being... Philippe jaroussky Russell Oberlin Alfred deller Jakub józef Orlinski These days countertenors have come a long way from singing just falsetto, some really talented singers out there

Pilippe Jaroussky admits to being a baritone with his natural (chest) voice; but he sings in his falsetto voice - in which he is absolutely amazing.

Interesting... But WHAT where the voice types in, say, polyphonic compositions by Machaut and generally the ars nova period? Weren't the countertenors then not a voice register necessarily, but that voice, other than the highest one, that sang embellishments and not the cantus firmus or the morae in isorhythmic motets, literally against the tenor, who sang those aforementioned parts?

Purcell wrote countertenor parts for The Fairy Queen and King Arthur!

I was a Boy Alto in my junior high choir 😌

4:49 wow terminology was certainly very different back then!