I think perhaps one reason we may have (or appear to have) fewer contraltos and basses is that modern vocal technique tends to discourage "covering" to artificially darken the voice.
If you listen to a lot of the old contraltos like Gervaille-Reache, Clara Butt, Marian Anderson, etc., you will note that a lot of the "darkness" of their sound was created by covering. The way you can tell is that you don't hear a similarly dark, foggy quality when they sing in their upper register. Often these singers sound fairly ordinary in their top registers, and only sound distinctive in their covered lower registers.
Karen Mercedes http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html ________________________________ O music, that openest the abysses of the soul! Thou dost destroy the normal balance of the mind. - Romain Rolland, JEAN-CHRISTOPHE
|