Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Tako Oda" <toda@m...>
"Tako Oda" <toda@m...>
Date:  Sat Apr 21, 2001  6:18 pm
Subject:  Re: Who are hautes contre???


chenweijie81@y... wrote:
chenweijie81@y... wrote:
> I have heard of the term "hautes contre" but don't know
> exactly who they are.Is it a classication of voice like baritones???
> From some of the previous forums,they are considered rare among the
> guys only???How do we tell whether a person is a hautes contre???
> Why are they rare???I wonder why... .

Haute contre is literally "high counter", or short for the original,
contratenor altus (high counterpoint to the held line). Countertenor
parts were altus or bassus relative to the melodic line, or the tenor.

So the root is basically the same as the english "countertenor", but
in practice, the voice is produced differently. The French-style haute
contre singer is usually a very high tenor who has an imperceptible
gear change from chest voice to light head voice (or falsetto, as some
would call it). The change is usually above F#4, so the basic tone is
very tenor-like. Mark Padmore, Stevie Wonder and Werner Marschall are
examples of this kind of singer.

The English-style countertenor generally switches much lower (a fifth
to an octave), so the basic tone is much more falsetto-ish, and some
would say, feminine in tone. You're probably familiar with this sound.
David Daniels is a very popular countertenor right now.

They are both higher than tenor, but haute contre is usually
considered a variety of tenor, while countertenor is generally
considered its own category.

Hope this is helpful.

Tako Oda


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