Dear List:
Following up on Tako Oda's message (about Daniels and Asawa descriptions of the distinctness of their "countertenor" from the reest of their voices), here is an excerpt from a interview with Brian Asawa (see: http://www.culturekiosque.com/opera/intervie/rheasawa.html)
"Brian Asawa: I sang in choruses as a tenor, and then discovered this falsetto voice by imitating sopranos or the soprano line in the choral music I was singing at the time, and realized it was a strong sound. I took this idea of singing falsetto to my teacher, not knowing anything about early music, about baroque opera, about ornamentation, repertoire, or anything about what the countertenor was. My teacher at the time informed me about the period, the genre, and we started working on this countertenor voice."
We can certainly debate what Asawa means by "falsetto" but I believe it is a different mode of production then tenor head voice, although I am unable to explain what physiologically is going on. I suspect Prof. Hanson may not have heard Brian Asawa, since his comments appear to be general in nature. While he is not my favorite countertenor for style and other reasons, for pure vocal sound, Asawa is the richest sounding male voice I have heard in his range - remarkably like a mezzo-soprano at times. I have also heard his speaking voice on the radio, and he is certainly a relatively high natural voice - I doubt he could be a baritone.
Cheers,
Michael Gordon
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