At 09:47 PM 07/12/2000 +0000, cyrus@e... wrote:
>A while back someone started a thread about basses/baritones, just so
>that we had a forum for discussion. Do any of you care to join in
>revive this idea?
I thought the original question was about basses vs.
bass-baritones. (and in the left corner, wearing white trunks
with a Microsoft logo ... :) Since I don't know much about
baritones, I'll confine my remarks to basses and bass-baritones.
My thought is that accross the board, there's not a lot of
difference between those two categories, except the lowest note,
which is about a tone apart. As for differences in timbre, I
think that's more of an individual matter than an
across-the-board characteristic of the ranges.
Of course, as we've been discussing forever, it's hard to say
just what one's lowest note is - they get weaker below a certain
point, so where do you say "This is the bottom?" It's a judgment
call.
As someone pointed out, basses (and bass-baritones) are usually
expected to avoid the head register, which produces kind of
singing that people think of as "bassy" - slightly awkward but
powerful - like a tuba or double bass - or a locomotive -
perfect for villains, patriarchs, and judgmental deities.
But the head tones of the Bass voice are beautiful - they often
have a woody quality like the upper registers of a bassoon or
cello (as opposed to the same notes played on an oboe or
violin). A bass who can use the head register and blend it well
has about as much agility as any other type of voice, give or
take a little. Anyone for coloratura bass? I can't think of any
reason why not. Once I was practicing head tones with a
teacher, and at the end of the lesson, the next student, who
didn't know me, said to me, "Wow, you've really got a beautiful
tenor." Now that's a compliment!
And while we're at it, composers, (including all you dead ones!
get out of those graves long enough to revise your work) - Bass
arias don't always have to end on a subterranean tonic - let us
belt a high note - if tenors can do it we can too - just not
quite as high, but possibly louder :)
Havin fun in the bass-ment....
Joel Figen
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