Tako wrote:
> It also explains Moreschi's insistence on bringing his chest to A4
> (few women in classical music do this), even though his break
sounded
> grotesque... perhaps it was much smoother when he was younger? Or
> maybe the break was just accepted in that era (like the awful
> scooping he does)?
Tako and list,
I've only heard the Moreschi recording once- so I can't comment
on his chest-voice. Regarding the "awful scooping", I would say that
these were choices of style rather than a lack of vocal technique.
Read Caccini's book,"Le Nuovo Musiche" for more information on these
stylistic elements.
You say A4 above- I'm assuming you meant A5, not A4. And I
would agree with what you say about few women bringing up the pure
chest register to A5. Castrati aside, the top part of the lower
register(chest-voice) is F4 (above mid C) for BOTH men and women.
Many voice teachers tend to think that the training of men and women
is different in some way. However, registrational events can be
applied to both sexes in exactly the same manner.
Tako wrote:
>SNIP
>The only thing that I
> wonder about is the idea that chest tones above G4 weren't
>acceptable for a tenor well into the Rossini era, when operatic
>castrati had
> already started to disappear.
When Duprez sang the first tenor high C from the chest(April 17th
1837- Paris Opera- William Tell) he created quite a scandal. The
public had never heard such singing and simply detested it. Prior to
Duprez, tenors emphasized head resonance. And if high notes tended to
resonate in their chest to too great an extent, they did not allow
them to do so.
A final thought on the castrati and CTs. Without going "under the
knife" it's impossible to draw a concrete comparison between the CT
of today and the castrati of yesterday. A countertenor can never
achieve the exact registrational events the castrati had because we
must factor in the hormonal effects the operation had on the boy
soprano voice.
Take Care All,
Taylor L. Ferranti
DMA Candidiate in Vocal Pedagogy
Louisiana State University
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