Countertenor Andreas Scholl - Part 1/3

[Guichotpresident]

Ive never been more honoured as when i met him and he heard me sing and came to shake my hand after...

[siervadedios1]

Andreas Scholl espara mí el mejor contra-tenor que he escuchado. Sin duda, el mejor. CAramba, me casaría con él, pero estoy comprometida. Por lo pronto me caso con su voz. Me gustas mucho Andreas....

[reinadegrillos]

His chest voice is quite low! That's strange!

I love his voice, his Rodelinda and all his recordings.

[hostroute]

For those who are not singers: this is a type of falsetto singing, there is not anything genetically or hormonally wrong with him! He will have the lower tenor range as well. I have worked with lots of countertenors over the years and its great to see and hear singing like this at this level especially when its applied to the early music repertoire.

[jeanpaul20012]

great but a bad quality

[blawrence011]

In flow my tears he sings b below middle c. i hear chest voice there. but its very hard to tell.

[nikosaspros]

this people can only complain. Every countertenor vid I watch and I must've watched them all I only bump into comments criticizing this and that. they are fantastic, yet more when they go sacrae. This people reminds me of the fly and the ox an aesopus' fable they should read. I used to consider Radu Marian until I heard Lascia ch'io pianga with him. I surely prefered it with Jaroussky. So what, am I going to say now that radu is a low quality voice????

[SquallPwnLife]

if anyone's still going on this countertenor debate, i think it's mainly about where you sing mostly, and where you're comfortable. like if a bass hits soprano nots, doesn't make him a soprano. but if he sings most songs in that register, i'd call him a bass singing soprano (or a countertenor)

adreas scholl sounds to me like a chest voice baritone, but he is without a doubt a c.t.

so, i'd say usable (performable) range and technique determine voice type, not just the length of your vocal cords

[GoBogi]

Yes, his modal voice is Baritone.

[randolphcary]

What a wonderful world, where countertenors can be rockstars!!!

[ALEXISVASSILIEV]

Why not? Av

[jonathanbraski]

Anybody have any idea what song is right away at the beginning? It is beautiful!

[JOHANHSJOO]

It's Vivi, Tiranno from Rodelinda by G.F. Handel.

[jonathanbraski]

Thanks! I really appreciate it :)

[RussianDivas]

I saw Scholl this past weekend in the Messiah with the New York Philharmonic. I will never be able to listen to "He Shall Feed His Flock" and "He was rejected" by anyone else, ever again. I was in the 5th row; you could actually see the vibrations on his cheekbones. Also, he can realize the text more theologically than any other singer; it was a religious experience!

[bluevienna]

I saw Andreas in concert last Saturday - lucky me - and he was marvellous.

I want his babies!!!

[BopperEnLarmes]

il a trop une tete d'intello ça me fait bien rigoler. Mais quelle voix! Quelle voix!!!!

[darnmat]

He's cute...

[ExtraDimensional]

It's weird.. his speaking voice sounds so starkly different from his singing voice. Judging by the former one might peg him as a baritone.

[GeminiAmbience]

Most counter-tenors have a baritone chest voice tessitura, actually. This isn't always the case (look at Randall Wong of Chanticleer...his chest voice was deep/bass and yet his head voice was a colorotura/soprano), but you need to realize that the head voice range isn't always determined by that of the chest voice.

[okebaram]

You are very right about the head voice range not being determined by the chest voice range. But in my opinion, many classical "counter tenor"s are just tenors. Because many first tenors who are good with voice can sing in the soprano range in head voice, and a man's head voice sounds like a woman's head voice. But if we call these classical singers counter tenors, then when they are simply tenors who decide to sing high in their head voice, then what do we call REAL counter tenors?

[bronx43]

Who are real counter tenors? Can you name a few?

[okebaram]

There is a very impressive performance of some gospel counter tenor on youtube (you know gospel folk can SING). Search "Mr Melonie Daniels" here on youtube and watch the video. (That's not his name; that's just the video's title).

[GeminiAmbience]

But that doesn't answer Bronx43's question about what you consider a "real" counter-tenor. :)

Just because a falsettist is using a different vocal pedagogy than a man singing in chest voice, it doesn't make his sound any less "real." It is still his vocal chords, larynx, and sinus cavity, and diaphram creating sound.

Perhaps your definition of "real" implies a man who can simply sing alto in chest voice instead of head voice? In that case, you're talking about a different timbre/style.

[okebaram]

A real counter tenor is a male person whose range in both chest and head voice is in higher than a tenor or usual male range. My point is that if the man can only sing countertenor in head voice, he is NOT necessarily a real countertenor because the head/falsetto range of a man is not necessarily lower than that of a soprano. To be honest, a REAL countertenor would be a countertenor in both chest and head, because a male does not have to be a counter tenor to have a head voice range that high

[GeminiAmbience]

To me it sounds like your viewpoint is concerned with the overall timbre and strength of the voice. Falsettists are just as "real" as chest voice singers - it's the pedagogy that is vastly different in order to produce and sustain the timbre associated with a "counter tenor" versus a falsettist "alto."

Andreas is a falsettist with superb control and technique. Whoever he studied with, has helped him place the voice perfectly. James Bowman will always be my "hero" CT, but Andreas is my fave.

[okebaram]

No, my viewpoint is concerned with an actual difference in voice placement or range, as opposed to someone just singing high. A real CT will be able to sing classical soprano in falsetto more easily than a regular tenor, and he will also be more easily able to sustain the "timbre" you spoke of, so there is nothing wrong with a CT being a falsettist. Maybe most CTs are really CTs, but some tenors successfully sing CT and then are considered one. I know that is the case with some so-called CTs.

[GeminiAmbience]

I find it interesting that you say the natural tessitura for a CT is the soprano range. My own teachers (and Peter Giles in his book on CT method) taught me that the traditional tessitura has always been the alto range. It wasn't until the last 10-15 years when the CT renaissance began that modern CT students are going after the castrati roles.

Nice conversation!

[okebaram]

Actually, I believe the natural tessitura of a CT is the alto range. But it seems like classical CTs sing soprano, so I was talking about it being easier for them to sing soprano than for other males, which is true. Most counter tenors singing in chest sing tenor or alto. Nice conversation as well.

[okebaram]

I just looked up the meaning of "castrati" and that is disgusting, but what I read is probably an outdated definition:

"a male singer, esp. in the 18th century, castrated before puberty to prevent his soprano or contralto voice range from changing."

[GeminiAmbience]

That is correct. Castrati history and lore was one of my hobbies when I was a performing counter-tenor. Many modern-day artists like David Daniels, who have very strong soprano ranges, have been recording many of the traditional castrati roles. The roles peaked during the Baroque period in Italy when artifice was "all the rage" - performance-speaking. Handel also wrote many fine operas starring castrati.

[GoBogi]

Well countertenors will never be able to really reinact what the castrato sound like because the simple fact is that a countertenor will never be able to blend their registers the way a castrato did from top to bottom.

The notes the higher, but the timbre remained constant.

That is something you cannot descibe contemporary voices with. Falsetto cannot be blended perfectly.

Lots of Alto and Mezzo women also fail to blend their voices. Genaux in Qual Guerriero displays e.g but She rocks.

[okebaram]

By the way, I think (not sure though) that Andreas Scholl is a real counter tenor, from listening to his speaking voice, even though he is speaking low, which is impressive if he really is a counter tenor.

[GoBogi]

Their are few men who can sing alto range in chest voice. I'd certainly want his genitalia inspected.

There are very few, but they are not normal. It is not natural for a man to have that type of voice range.

Michael Maniaci has a modal soprano voice. Radu Marian as well. One's voice didn't break (extremely uncommon) and one had an illness when he was a boy that stopped his voice from changing (koleman's or something).

But you don't just go to a church and find a male alto (chest)..

[Domcountertenor]

@GoBogi Do you think that Scholl is singing in his chest voice? This is not the case. All countertenors sing using the falsetto register.

[GoBogi]

I didn't say that, and I don't really see where that could be insinuated.

[Domcountertenor]

Sorry, I didn't read the other comments written avove your own. However, in your first paragraph, which responds to the comment above your own, you use the possessive pro-noun 'his'. I can see now that this 'his' refers to the word 'men'. But men is plural, and you should therefore have used the possessive pro-noun 'their'. Your using 'his' led to my misunderstanding; the name 'Andreas Scholl' was mentioned in the previous comment, which would correspond with your using 'his'. :)

[GoBogi]

This is the internet. Please do not attempt to teach me how to write proper English statements to justify your lack of situational awareness IRT my comments. I know how to write proper English, but I really don't care about that on YouTube with its character limits and the fact that I'm usually commenting on several things at any given time... If you really want to see how the replies were posted you can scroll to the bottom and select "View all # comments".

Thank you.

[Domcountertenor]

And yet you find the time to write such a long reply. I mealy wished to explain how I came to misunderstand your comment; I had no intention of teaching you how to form coherent statements.

But, please remember: where you use the written word is not important, internet or otherwise, the fact that you write properly is.

I apologise for any ignorance on my part. As you say, I have a certain 'lack of situational awareness'.

[dnebelski1017]

yeah man, his voice is fucking awesome...

[AduneStormwind]

What's the aria he's singing at about 1:50, I don't know the name of it but I was looking for it.

[muzicarka]

che faro senza euridice from the opera orfeo ed euridice by christoph wilibald gluck

[mradaChris]

Andreas version che faro is one of my favorites!

[mediaevaltimes]

i mean I'm a man but if a were a woman I'd marry him without any doubt!!

[oOoRELOADERoOo]

i love his voice, so pure , I'm a COUNTERTENOR TOO. but this singer is gorgeous.

straordanario.

[CaptainNemo92]

Jaa pjwdfn da hast du recht, aber hier geht es viel mehr um seine stimme

und die ist wohl wunderschön!

Ich liebe diesen hermafrodite an countertenören!!! Er ist grandios!

[dodoria234]

tiene una voz hermosa, mi cancion faborita interpretada por el es agnus dei

[k0229071]

I want to marry him also...LOL

[bumburist88]

Adoro la sua voce <3

[ladivoodoo]

I want to marry him

[pjwdfn]

Die Kameraführung schmeichelt ihm ja nicht gerade...

[francoisedouce]

it's a Decca promo

[guiradobrasil]

well, I like his voice, but after seeing him life last year as Giulio Cesare in Paris, I was profoundly disappointed, his voice was so small that it was embarrassing, we could barely hear him, he should just do CD's, no stage!! He even got some boos at the end...

[BachLoveNat]

Whaaaaaat?! boos?! Really? I didn't note.... And sorry....I can't agree with you....

[MyOnly2007]

Change your hearing aid!

[MyOnly2007]

Scholl Cesare is Best of The Best!

[kalindoscopy]

Pushee is good too

[justwatchingyours]

wow.. his talking voice is very different from his singing voice. He sings so natural.. it is like a wonderful breeze in a sizzling hot summer day.

[ricky3diaz]

he have a very masculine voice, he is amazin, obviosly, not than erik karol

[Dauria007]

his voice surpasses all expectations and his smile is pure magic!!!