Contralto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "other uses". Template:DMCA Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Sidebar/configuration' not found. A contralto (Script error: No such module "IPA".) (sometimes alto) is a classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice types.[1]

The contralto voice type is fairly rare. A contralto's range is similar to that of a mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor – typically from the F below middle C (F3 in scientific pitch notation) to the second F above middle C (F5), although, at the extremes, some voices can reach the D below middle C (D3)[2] or the second B♭ above middle C (B♭5).[1] The contralto voice type includes coloratura, lyric, and dramatic contraltos.

History

"Contralto" is primarily meaningful only in reference to classical and operatic singing, as other traditions lack a comparable system of vocal categorization. The term "contralto" is only applied to female singers; men singing in a similar range are called "countertenors".[3] The Italian terms "contralto" and "alto" are not synonymous, "alto" technically denoting a specific vocal range in choral singing without regard to factors like tessitura, vocal timbre, vocal facility, and vocal weight.[4] However, there exists some French choral writing (including that of Ravel and Poulenc) with a part labelled "contralto", despite the tessitura and function being that of a classical alto part. The Saracen princess Clorinde in André Campra's 1702 opera Tancrède was written for Julie d'Aubigny and is considered the earliest major role for bas-dessus or contralto voice.[5]

Vocal range

File:Contralto voice range on keyboard.svg
Contralto vocal range (F3–F5) notated on the treble staff (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C4)
<score>{ \new Staff \with { \remove "Time_signature_engraver" } f4 f4 }</score>

The contralto has the lowest vocal range of the female voice types, with the lowest tessitura;[3][6] it is between tenor and mezzo-soprano. Chrissie Hynde, the singer/guitarist of the rock band The Pretenders, has a contralto range.

Although tenors, baritones, and basses are male singers, some women can sing as low (albeit with a slightly different timbre and texture) as their male counterparts. Some of the rare female singers who specialized in the tenor and baritone registers include film actress Zarah Leander,[7][8] the Iranian āvāz singer Hayedeh,[9] the child prodigy Ruby Helder (1890–1938),[10] and Bavarian novelty singer Bally Prell.[11][12] The Guinness World Record for lowest note by a female is D2, by Helen Leahey.

Subtypes and roles in opera

File:Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore (1907, Odeon) - 02 - I'm called Little Buttercup.mp3
Ada Florence singing I'm called Little Buttercup from H.M.S. Pinafore

Within the contralto voice type category are three generally recognized subcategories: coloratura contralto, an agile voice specializing in florid passages; lyric contralto, a voice lighter in timbre; and dramatic contralto, a deep, dark, and bold contralto voice.

The coloratura contralto was a favorite voice type of Rossini's. Many of his roles listed below were written with this type of voice in mind. Lyric contraltos are heavily utilized in both the French and English operatic repertoire. Many of the Gilbert and Sullivan contralto roles are best suited with a lyric contralto voice. Ma Moss in The Tender Land is a notable lyric contralto role. The dramatic contralto voice is heard in much of the German operatic repertoire. Erda in Der Ring des Nibelungen and Gaea in Daphne are both good examples of the dramatic contralto.

File:Umm Kulthum in 1939 (cropped).jpg
Umm Kulthum, a well known contralto. She had the ability to sing as low as the second octave and as high as the eighth octave at her vocal peak.[13][14][15]

True operatic contraltos are rare, and the operatic literature contains few roles written specifically for them with most of those roles singing notes outside of their defined range. Contraltos sometimes are assigned feminine roles like Teodata in Flavio, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Isabella in L'italiana in Algeri, and Olga in Eugene Onegin, but more frequently they play female villains or trouser roles. Contraltos may also be cast in roles originally written for castrati. A common saying among contraltos is that they may play only "witches, bitches, or britches."[16]

Examples of contralto roles in the standard operatic repertoire include the following:[16]

Page Template:Div col/styles.css has no content.

* indicates a role that may also be sung by a mezzo-soprano.

See also

Lua error in mw.title.lua at line 404: bad argument #2 to 'title.new' (unrecognized namespace name 'Portal').

References

Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.

  1. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1-56593-940-0.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jones, David L. (2007). "Training the Contralto Voice". The Voice Teacher. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Appelman, D. Ralph (1986). The Science of Vocal Pedagogy: Theory and Application. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-20378-6.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Stark, James (2003). Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-8614-3.
  5. ^ The part of Clorinde is notated in the soprano clef (original score: Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tancrede, Tragedie [...]. Paris: Ballard. 1702. p. 71 ff.), but, although it never descends below d′, tradition has it that it was the first major bas-dessus (contralto) role in the French opera history (Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sadie, Julie Anne (1997). "Maupin". In Sadie, Stanley (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Vol. 3. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2.
  6. ^ Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
  7. ^ Peucker, Brigitte. The Material Image: Art and the Real in Film. Stanford University Press 2007. p. 120 Template:ISBN Script error: No such module "webarchive".
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."A Taste of the Music of Zarah Leander". YouTube: Flower Bomb. 29 June 2022.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."HĀYEDA – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Elliot, David J. (2005). Praxial Music Education: Reflections and Dialogues. Oxford University Press. p. 302. ISBN 9780199725113. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017.
  11. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Contralto Female Voice…". YouTube: DHO Gwen. 8 January 2017.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Bally Prell". Historical Tenors. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Funeral for a Nightingale". Time. 17 February 1975. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Stanton, Andrea L. (2012). Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. SAGE. p. 297. ISBN 978-1-4129-8176-7.
  15. ^ Danielson, Virginia (10 November 2008), p.57
  16. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Boldrey, Richard (1994). Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias. Caldwell Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-877761-64-5.

Further reading

Template:Range (music) Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Authority control/config' not found.

Retrieved from "https://cosmopedia.co/index.php?title=Contralto&oldid=51891"