On Mon, 12 Mar 2001, Tako Oda wrote:
> arguably like the castrati of yesteryear. What the castrati did was > not called falsetto - and we're not entirely sure that the modern > operatic CTs muscle action is all that different from what they did.
My understanding of castrato physiology is that the gelding was done before puberty began, thus preventing the natural surges of testosterone that cause the lowering of the voice in most men. Thus, the castrato would have no need to use falsetto, because his voice remained naturally high. The countertenor, on the other hand, is a fully developed male who controls his vocal production in order to sing in what are usually considered female registers. I'm not sure I quite understand the distinctions that are drawn in the countertenor world between male sopranos/altos, falsettists, etc. It seems to me more that these are subjective judgmental labels that are somehow supposed to imply a superiority (aesthetic, technical?) of one over the other - though for the life of me I don't know who sets the absolute standards by which one can tell which type of countertenor is "better or "more real".
KM ===== My NEIL SHICOFF Website: http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Website: http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
----- We're sitting in the opera house; We're waiting for the curtain to arise With wonders for our eyes, A feeling of expectancy, A certain kind of ecstasy, Expectancy and ecstasy....Sh's's's.
- Charles Ives
|