YODELING operatic contralto - SCHUMANN-HEINK - Millocker

[pug6666]

Adele is a good contralto my grandmother who listens to a lot of opera said I'm correct in that guess also i looked it up contraltos are amazing.

[OLIVCHEN77]

BRAVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVAAAAaaa

[towhook]

I think I've just been Tim rolled. This is Tiny Tim isn't it? lol

[VivaRenata]

Would like to thank gmmix for a concise and excellent biography and for posting these fantastic recordings of an operatic legend.

[OlDoinyo]

Infectious. What a sense of fun she must have had.

[AstDerek]

Amo su personalidad

[norisv]

The highest note is an F#, that's not high. Any operatic sopranos would probably be more comfortable singing this song in the key of Bb/B, which means ending it with a high Bb/B.

[toni7777ful]

is her voice cntralto? She sings high.

[moo7chi7ld]

Yes I think you start the note on the falstto and immediately add the head voice so its not too breathy.

[Lady2Sootheursoul]

My Grandfather Charles Arthur Berhard Senz was here protégé, but I really didn't know much about her until recently and only today have I heard her sing.

[biboi90]

so melodic

[dinastein44]

Ms. Schumann-Heink was known for her great sense of humour and likewise, for her hearty appetite. Once Caruso met her in a restaurant, about to tuck into a huge steak. Astonished, he asked her: "Are you going to eat this alone?" She answered: "No, of course not - with french fries!"

[toddydelahov]

Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[toy2day]

Thanks a lot for this uploading!!!

[meltzerboy]

Some say that weird vocal effects are always well grounded in solid technique, as is the case with Schumann-Heink. Perhaps often this is true; but, I suppose, sometimes all a singer has are the effects (for example, Yma Sumac, whom I enjoy, so please refrain from criticisms). As Melba once said about Tetrazzini, "let her sing me a slow scale." Of course, Tetrazzini had more than pyrotechnic abilities in her singing.

[MrCafiero]

When the vocal registers are balanced and coordinated you can yodel. It is absolutely good for the voice. What happens in yodeling is that you go from strong chest and crack out to falsetto/headvoice. These old singers were masters of vocal registration which is all, but lost today.

[gmmix]

Interesting commentary worth noting.

[trrill]

Great comment and absolutely correct. I spot a Reid-ite!

[MrCafiero]

Not a Reid-ite, but close. I never studied with him.  I am a teacher of balanced vocal registration though and good friends with some Reid students.:)

[moo7chi7ld]

they have a mexican genre of song called son huasteco where they use the yodel to great enotional effect. One song is the 9th prisoner, and another is the stone crucifix. If anyone knows some others i'd love to hear them. If you cant yodel it means that youve welded your falsetto to your Chest voice, and you cant add and separate them at will.

[MrCafiero]

And if you cannot separate and yodel there is a problem.

[MrSkylark1]

@MrCafiero

You are absolutely right. No one knows how to sing as they did in the Golden Era.

[MishaTandler]

Fine voice but the yodelling part is not in tune and was in need of more slow practice.

[waldteufel78]

awesome ! never heard of this song before.

[lalagonegaga]

So cool. Gotta love it.

[dornroslein]

Go Erni! I love the Tyrolean yell at 1:50! She is legendary.

[ripleysb]

What a gem! I am so glad you posted this.Hearing an opera star yodeling is priceless! and beautiful. Thanks

[zciweslab]

Fantastic! Thank you for the brief biographical sketch of Mme. Schumann-Heink.

[philomelodia]

Anyone know of any full-voiced male contralto singers? Not looking for falsettists. I mean male contralti as Maniaci and Marian are male soprani that do not employ falseto due to their voices remaining unbroken into adulthood.

[Sonoraman]

Or worse yet, castrati. :p

There is a revived range of male singers called 'counter tenors' who sing essentially what is alto/contralto. Counter tenors are usually (and oddly enough) baritones who can sing in a manner that is above tenor and do so without falsetto.

This is actually a great example of Schumann-Heink's vocal capabilities. She was one of the best!

[philomelodia]

Not to shock you but, if a Hijra from India who was of the Nirvan and became so as a prepubescent boy were to emerge as a gifted opera singer, I won't be upset. considering their current lot, his life would markedly improve. I'm familiar with countertenors. If they speak in baritone, they use falsetto to hit their alto notes as does Nicholas Clapton and Andreas Scholl. I'm talking about someone like Paolo Abel Do Nascimento:

watch?v=FtAjXOjb_bc

[Sonoraman]

IIRC, there was a piece on him on NPR a few months ago. What a fantastic voice! I sang for many years - my speaking voice is tenor, my comfortable singing range is baritone-tenor. Suddenly, when I hit about 30 years of age, I lost the ability to use falsetto and discovered that I could sing outrageously high without using falsetto. (continued)...

[Sonoraman]

I envy those who can sing in the counter-tenor range at young ages because if you can do it later in life, it indicates that your singing career has about 15 years left. Oddly enough I finally hit those notes without falsetto when I was about 35 years old - while performing an Eric Clapton song. ;D

[karynchaotic]

this woman is a huge inspiration to me--i'm the only contralto in my school right now, and it's getting to be a pain to find soprano after soprano, without finding anyone i sound remotely like.

[gmmix]

The range of good music for a contralto is rich. True contraltos are something of a rarity. Opera buffs can lists 15 good sopranos to one good contralto. Go with your talent and interest, which obviouly exists or you wouldn't be scouting YouTube for samples and inspiration. If you haven't yet, do listen to the other Schumann-Heink video I've posted. She IS an inspiration, remembered fondly SEVENTY YEARS after her death!

[Surykatkaaa]

@gmmix She sings amazing :D

I always thought I am a contralto but now I'm not sure...I'm definitely not a soprano, nor contralto, and my voice can go high and low. People also say I talk quite high, and I have a range of only E3 - A5 so I highly doubt I am one. Maybe you or some other person can help me find my voicetype please, I've done a lot of research...

[raigekimaru]

Don't get discouraged, contralto voices are a rare gift and are extremely scarce in the operatic world. In fact, most contralto roles are played by mezzos which shows that real contralto voices are in high demand. If you're looking for inspiration, also try Kathleen Ferrier and Marie-Nicole Lumineux. Good luck.^^

[VivaRenata]

@karynchaotic You wrote this comment a long time ago but hope my reply reaches you! There's a reason you're one of a few real contraltos around, and that is the unfortunate development of musical culture after WWII which has been chronicled, for example, in books by Harold Schonberg (former music critic of the NY Times, see his "The Great Conductors"). The tuning of instruments has been raised and every mezzo around wants to sing The Queen of the Night. Listen to Ferrier and continue singing!

[mariasarda]

Très beau timbre, loin des rossignols à la gomme qui sont à la mode des médias aujourd'hui. vive le retour des vraies mezzos !!

[141407078989]

her timbre is very similar to ferrier's

[ellandelachapelle]

Isn´t it?? I wonder if it her Ferrier is imitating in the home audio? (you can hear it here on YouTube. Very rare.)(and hilarious.)

[rupepill]

She sounds like a jolly lady. On an occasion ater in her splendid career, when her figure had come into its full bloom, Madame Schumann-Heink was asked by an anxious stage manager to move sideways to avoid disturbing the musicians at a concert. "Fool!" she said, sweeping the unfortunate man aside, "With me, there is no sideways!"

[gmmix]

GREAT anecdote. Thanks for sharing it.

[fuzzbear6240]

Gmmix, Lovely Thank you. YF, J.

[gmmix]

This is the ONLY record I EVER broke. Accidentally sat on it when in 6th grade.  I was sick about the loss, because I really liked this unusual performance. Then, about 15 years ago, I came across a mint copy at a 2nd hand shop.

[fuzzbear6240]

Gmmix, OUCH! At least you finally found a replacement. ;-) YF, J.