Vocalist.org archive


From:  Leslie Jones <LJones@s...>
Date:  Thu Mar 6, 2003  9:14 pm
Subject:  Re: Baritones and Contraltos

Tried to send this yesterday, but apparently it didn't go through. One
more try! :-)

==============

--- In vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com, Michael <chosdad@y...&
>As has been mentioned, there are plenty of contralto voices
>singing "bass" in the Sweet Adelines, so it's not a shortage from
>biology. I suspect too that there might be a certain prejudice
>against contraltos and so voice teachers might tend to steer wide-
>ranging contralto voices towards higher keys - I recall Leslie Jones
>(list member and contralto) writing about originally being trained as
>a soprano. Sorry if I'm off base here.

No, Michael, you do remember correctly! I've had no time of late to join
in the discussions, but I have been following them, and Michael makes some
good points. Yes, I think there is a certain prejudice, or maybe a better
term is "disbelief", toward the contralto voice. I've heard low mezzos who
might legitimately call themselves contraltos say that they *choose* to
bill themselves as mezzos rather than contraltos simply so they will be
hired. That's not a choice I can really make, since having dabbled with
various teachers in every conceivable female fach (except dramatic soprano)
before finding this one that immediately felt like home, there's no sense
in me trying to disguise myself as anything else -- some can do that, but
for me, it just doesn't work.

By the way, there was discussion a few messages back about the types of
roles that these low female voices sing -- the topic for my lecture-recital
portion of my doctoral work was: "Hags, Harlots, Hellions, and
Hexes: Vocal Roles for Low Women." :-)

Leslie Jones


Leslie Jones, D.M.A.; contralto
Asst. Professor, Dept. of Music
Southeast Missouri State Univ.
LJones@s... - (573) 651-2339




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