Tako and Vocalisters
It is not illogical to assume that a castrati's larynx would have
about the same size as that of a woman. But the larynx would not
have the benefit of growth prompted by the male hormone
(testosterone) which regulates the growth and development of primary
and secondary male characteristics. Testosterone also was
instrumental in determining when growth should stop. It was typical
for castrati to be many inches taller than the average man of that
time. There are records of chest sizes in the neighborhood of 54
inches in girth. In other words, these men were likely to considered
giants for their day.
The capacity of lung space represented by the rib cage size mentioned
above would, obviously, be an advantage for any male with a male size
larynx. But coupled with a larynx the size of a woman's it would be
an enormous advantage. One has only to look at the long coloratura
phrases regularly written by composers of this time to realize that
they were writing for an extraordinary instrument, be it through
training or castration or both.
We know from written records that the castrati had the ability to
sing very loudly in comparison to other voices of the time. Even if
the trumpet player with whom the noted castrati is supposed to have
competed was playing a small bore trumpet, his ability to sing louder
and sustain longer and do a more sustained crescendo to forte
followed by a decrescendo to niente is pretty substantial proof of
these voices being extraordinary.
It is also a blessing that these voices are no longer with us. Think
what new pains the "performing practices" crowd could inflict on us
with this instrument. No, it is better to have castrati be a part of
history and a source of never ending wonder that man could do this to
fellow man.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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