Great Performers 2009-2010: Andreas Scholl talks about countertenors

[Osilla7]

Amo a este hombre!

[Sally6572]

ti credi molto bravo,forse lo eri,ma con lei il rendimento è sceso,sarà la passione?

[eyeshowyou]

the most beautiful male voices in the world. (for me)

[douskara]

What a great artist!!!!

[8SparrowBird8]

we love you andreassss

[matthewtng]

I had the privilege of singing for him in a masterclass in Melbourne in March.. This man is such a genius.....

[mistatomsom]

a counter-tenor as a soloistic voice is a complete historical fabrication!

[olialto7]

@mistatomsom Thats not strictly true: the male soloists using falsetto alone were probably not used, historically, nearly as much as they are nowadays, but they certainly did exist. In opera and oratorio you were probably more likely to encounter castrati and mezzo soprani and contralti, and in Bach perhaps you'd be more likely to come across the boy alto. There again in France, England (during a certain period) and even in Italy you'd hear the high, sometimes very light tenor as 'alto'.

[olialto7]

@mistatomsom Having said that, I think that all types of male voices (including the castrati) have used falsetto through the ages, and some more than others, depending (as Scholl wisely says) on natural disposition and physiognomy. For example, if you look at the duet "Sound the trumpet" from Purcell's Come ye sons of Art, surely the falsettist countertenor sang the upper part? He may have sounded very unlike Scholl, Bowman, Deller, etc. but the basic principles must have been the same

[mistatomsom]

@olialto7 Dear Oloalto, would really appreciate some sources for your claims. I agree, that there were some instances of high tenors singing high part, especially in France as haute-contres, but that is not a counter tenor and the vocal production is v. different.

[olialto7]

@mistatomsom Well, hang on, you haven't answered my question yet: If the solo countertenor did not exist, then who sang the arias and the duet in (for example) Purcell's 'Come ye sons of art'? The parts are designated COUNTERTENOR I and COUNTERTENOR II - if they weren't high tenors which, as you rightly say are a quite different breed from the falsettist countertenor, however HAVE historically been described as countertenors, then what were they? Boys? Women? Certainly not castrati.

[donaldrose]

There are some on YouTube who give so-called voice lessons but are clueless. This man talks sense which applies to any kind of voice. He seems a lovely person as well as the possessor of a magical voice.

Voice students in any vocal fach, listen to this knowledgeable man.  Some of the things he speaks of seem obvious but are too rarely practiced at any level other than the most professional singers.

[stickom]

All true for the Natural Horn. The higher it plays the narrower the range. Hearing is the only tool to relay to. It is terrific how Andreas explains projecting the volume of the inevitable fable high voice, pitch in my horn playing. The “prima donna” skill is eluding the audience to focus on supernatural, mermaid voice. This was a powerful tool in hands of Handle, the opera king, to manipulate the audience, even monarchs of his time, well let me say, of all times!

[XxSomeonePersonXX]

Good explanation !

So Basically ... If u have a head voice after puberty then u are a counter-tenor.

whats the difference between a Tenor and a counter ?

Do they have like more chest range or something ?

And have u heard of Adam Lambert.. he can really really high notes and make them sound like chest voice .. is he a counter-tenor as well ?

Do all males have the same chest range or are some able to go higher in chest?

[GeminiAmbience]

His explanations are absolutely spot-on. If anyone is considering learning the pedagogy for head voice placement, definitely check out Peter Giles's "A Basic Counter-Tenor Method" - it's a fantastic method and easy to understand his directions.

[aravis123]

i sing tenor..my question is..can i also sing countertenor??or do i need to stick to the tenor voice??

[GeminiAmbience]

@aravis123 : this totally depends on learning how to switch over from bel canto pedagogy to learning falsetto and head voice placement. Also realize, if you have a chest voice tessitura of tenor, that doesn't necessarily mean your head voice tessitura will be flexible enough to develop the proper counter-tenor timbre. Again, we're dealing with two entirely different types of voice placement.

[aravis123]

@GeminiAmbience but generally is it possible??

[GeminiAmbience]

@aravis123 : absolutely. Head voice is just as natural a mechanism as chest voice. What you will need to learn, however, are two different styles of voice placement. Chest voice tessituras will always be stronger/louder than head voice tessituras, but when you learn head voice properly, you use your nasal cavities to resonate your volume instead of strong support from the diaphragm. I recommend looking up Peter Giles's "A Basic Counter-Tenor Method" to begin your research/studies.

[jeanpaul20012]

Im natural also a tenor and Im a countertenor

[josejuniorbr]

Oh, GOD. How much shit!!! I´m a countertenor and I´m not a Baritone trying to be a tenor. If I could try to be something, in singing, I swear I would try to be a mezzo-soprano or a soprano coloratura... kkk

Ahhh, and we don´t say "normal voice"... We have the head voice and the chest voice (mine is tenor)... See? I´m already a tenor. What happens is that my voice is much more brilliant and resonant in the higher register. You know what I try to be? As good as Scholl. That´s it.

[nehemiah28]

Well said! I'm glad one of us is here to speak up for our fellow countertenors!!!

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

wow... I'd really like to learn to sing as countertenor. How did you start?

[josejuniorbr]

@newFranzFerencLiszt

Well, dear. It was very instinctive to me. I was still a child when the female voices started to enchant me. I liked those sounds so much that I wanted them to go out of my mouth too. And, with time, I found out that I could naturally sing in a register tipical of a mezzo or a contralto, which means I´m a countertenor...

[bastiantotalhappy]

@josejuniorbr me too i always sang women songs maybe thats why i kept my head voice

[Psychopathis]

I agree with tyotyo83. They are barritones who d like to be tenors. Instead, they drive their voice to the head. Of course, there are exeptions too. But rare.

[tyotyo83]

I think he (but also all countertenors) are lying. He speaks with normal voice, he sings with headvoice, but he is also able to sing with normal voice. Normal people than think that it's magic what from his through outcomes. Surely it's very nice, but it is only a pure, well developed headvoice. It's uncomparable to a real tenor voice.

[Guichotpresident]

@tyotyo83

you're wrong. I am a countertenor, not a tenor or a barytone or whatever. I am a countertenor, the voice that I use to sing is my voice!

[bastiantotalhappy]

@tyotyo83 i agree i am a high baritone and a maybe a countertenor but i can sing with both voices and speak .

[melenmelenmelen]

Ombra Mai Fu was the first song I heard of Scholl's, and it blew me away. This was a very informative interview, and it was really interesting hearing him talk instead of sing. What a deep, mellifluous voice he has. What an interesting scarf-tucked-into-sweater. :)

[poperagurl]

very interesting to hear him talk about his voice with such a "scientific" approach. I also realized even his speaking voice is very soothing to the ear!

[kubinko444]

Thank you for uploading this video, Andreas Scholl is a beautiful person and charming, smart singer with good sense of humor.

[tuffy942]

This explains very clearly countertenor voice, sound and production, by a man who knows first hand, being a wonderfully talented and genuinely nice person. Thank you for this video!!

[RussianDivas]

Thanks for posting! This interview is great!

[BachLoveNat]

interesting...

[LoRau]

Thanks a lot!

[gehaktmolen]

thanks!:D cool

[mradaChris]

This was great to watch.

chris