Added: 4 years ago
From: sfkcbf
Views: 91,855
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:

All Comments (194)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • I get shivers every time! The only part that sound weird to me is around 2:31 but I absolutely love this version over any other nonetheless.

  • I don't really know anything about singing but if someone were to randomly hear his singing voice, not knowing who it belonged to or even what gender it belonged to. what kind of voice would they consider it?

  • @mmamilano Medical and vocal research show that there are physical differences between males and females that result in a discernibly different sound, even between girls and boys. One example is that female voices tend to sound more aspirate, whereas male voices tend to sound more focused and hard-eged. Even though Radu's voice is less forceful than many, he still has a timbre more masculine than feminine.

  • @sfkcbf so a trained ear would know that it was a male soprano? or would someone think it was a boys voice? or is voice so unique that people would be stumped?

  • @mmamilano People without acute hearing & musical perception often think superficiallya male soprano is female merely because the voice is high. A few females e.g. Kiehr have a more masculine sound, and a few countertenors e.g. Daniels have a more feminine sound, which can contribute to some confusion. And, adult-male general growth = different sound from boys'.

  • @sfkcbf yes but didn't this guy's voice never break? so how does it differ from a boys?

  • @mmamilano The information is too long for here. I would send it to you through your personal message, but you don't have that option on your channel page. Most of the information is on the website MaleSopranos.

  • @mmamilano Ofcourse. but you should take into account, that there may be some androgenic, male voices belonged to the women and some female voices belonged to the men. So we can say- this “woman is castrato”, this woman sing like boy, this girl is “boy soprano” or this boy is not a boy soprano, he sing like a girl. personality is very important at this point.

  • O________________O

  • Extraordinary! 

  • Extradinary sums it up for me.

  • I´ve never heared the angels sing, but it must sound like this!

  • hmmm. Interesting, but IMHO some of the singing sounds a bit uncertain. I know I'll get flamed for this, but it sounds to me like a voice still not fully trained, despite it being so unusual.

  • @rix657 Well, you will not be flamed...this was recorded some 10 years ago, when he was in his early twenties. The voice, since then, has develloped and matured. You may checkout his first performance of "Lascia chío pianga" from the same cd as this here, and the newest version, uploaded by radumariandotnet, so you will see yourself. Greetings from Germany!

  • Jesus! ....

  • You guys are hilarious! lol I hope radumariandotnet is in fact his wife, not he himself. ; )

    Very beautiful, rare talent !!! Bravissimo !!!

    As soprano, if I was his wife I would constantly compete with him. Of course he would always win. Pieces/repertoir for that kind of a voice (male soprano) are much harder to sing then it seems.

  • Im sorry iif others dont agree with me but..i think this is the best one i have heard Radu sing...Sublime!!!

  • are you sure that it is a man.......?

  • @ralphupod22 Be sure! I am his wife!!!

  • @ralphupod22 Are you sure that you have got a brain???

  • Nearly perfect. He shrieks at 2:24. It sounded as if he is screaming to reach that high note.

  • @florido9898 Mr. Marian can shriek and scream into my ears any day.

  • Пронизваща Аве Мария!

  • This is the most beautiful ave maria I've heard to date. It's not only the voice but the interpretation.

  • ...sublim!...

    et in arcadia ego...

  • nobody can rival this voice. countertenors were my favourite for a while but they can sound so cheap. i want a real castrato ;( am i wicked for wishing it? surely the church needs these voices. not to mention the stage....

  • @Shanniquitie alessandro moreschi's the closest we'll get. he's on youtube.

  • not really, all the recordings of moreschi are so far past his prime it's unfair to judge the voice. also, the recording material is very poor, and the general effect is diminished beyond recognition.

  • Sheer unrivaled clarity and beauty. But he does not stand to the spectacle that were castrati. In my opinion music will never recover from their loss.

  • The vocal requirements of many Baroque opera arias were so extreme compared to normal human possibilities that the music required, in a sense, "super-humans" to sing it. I play on the piano for interested persons a famous castrato aria but must explain to them that no singer today can perform it as intended.

  • @optimo33 They didn't ban catrati to be mean to music, though.

  • @jravell Your statement is correct, although there were some written laments upon the gradual loss of the castrato voice. Many of us would love to have time machines to be able to travel back to the Baroque era in order to hear the best opera castrati such as Farinelli.

  • @sfkcbf You could have found the answer for yourself and not had to ask it here had you done some careful, scholarly research. Sufficient information is available to make a good judgement. There are dozens of contributing factors that have been studied (e.g. current medical research of phys. & vocal development,  differences between male & female structure, knowledgeable accounts from contemporary vocal coaches, the sound of natural male sopranos and countertenors, etc. Read. Search the web.

  • @optimo33

    How can you make an informed judgement. Nobody alive today has ever heard a castrato, sans that one Moreschi guy, who apparently sucked. So you've never heard enough castrati to really tell how good they were.

  • @optimo33

    totally. i shiver everytime

  • A question, perhaps, for sfkcbf: This is one of two voices that I would like to hear in concert (the other is Derek Lee Ragin); for which I would go anywhere in Western or Eastern Europe. How does one find an advance concert schedule? Does anyone know? Many thanks for any helpful answers.

  • The so called feminine timbre has a lot to do with the misdirected life-long training women are subjected to that makes them sound all like 60 year old women.

  • There is much truth to your astute comment. While physiology is extremely important in determining sound, training is very important, too. In the earliest era of women in opera, they did not sing the way most women sing today. As great a soprano as Gundula Janowitz might have ended up sounding as you described had she not had excellent training and been determined to sing in the best manner possible. Many viewers have posted comments indicating that they have no idea what we are talking about.

  • I gather there is a technique of singing through the top of the head and not further down in the head. It used to be better known. But one contertenor practised it and got sounds similar to this. Emma Kirkby apparently did it to and her voice was very pure. I don't think it is easy to be emotional singing in this way but it certainly got very pure results. I don't know what the technique was called.

  • @sfkcbf I always find it funny how people do not understand what learned-men/women of music know, and then attempt to degrade the true value and need for the knowledge. A lot of the old ways of learning as they did in the eras of Socrates and Plato should be considered in the reformation of modern education.

  • Of ourse it's a guy. There's no reason that modern women, who are fitter and stronger than the women of the 18th and 19th centuries, should be incapable of producing sounds like this. They certainly have the diaphragm for it.

  • There are a dozen physciological factors that contribute to the sound of a singing voice. There are distinct differences between male & female regardless of whether the singer is a child, an adult, or a castrato. Some female singers today have felt compelled to attempt to sing, for example, Baroque castrato arias, but have done so with poor results. Few come close, i.e., Maria Cristina Kiehr, Emma Kirkby, Gundula Janowitz, Carolyn Watkinson. Bartoli has the technique but has feminine timbre.

  • I think this is the best one he sings..*S*

  • An Angel's voice!

    Magnificent.

  • dumb question but..castrati?

  • yes, but because of endocrinologial conditions. of course he's not actually castrated, but is classified as one because his voice never broke.

  • What a gorgeous voice. Incredible. Pure. Sweet. What a contemporary, young, healthy female opera singer can and should sound like.

  • but she is a guy..male soprano..

  • His voice adds so much beauty to the Latin language. And to think he's singing something that devout catholics recite at least 50 times a day. This must be refreshing to hear for them.

  • the singer is a guy omfg!!!!!!!!!!

  • It was on his debut album Alia Vox - 1996?

  • Yes,it is Alia Vox, it was recorded in 2000. Have you heard his newest performance, "Et vidi Coelum novum"?

  • I love this version x

  • At the time of the recording, Radu probably was not considered to have been "world-famous" or "well-established," which would have warranted greater effort and expense with the accompaniment. Even so I have heard many recitals of famous singers with only piano accompaniment, even for opera arias. It is a common practice. I never have felt satisfied with them. Still, we are so pleased to have this recording. I had hoped for some time for such a performance and am very pleased that we have it.

  • If you check out his video's on utube ..you will notice that it is very basic..and he was not famous at the time ..so money might have had something to do with it ...

  • For others, I have located the recording in Europe: Title--Alia Vox (not to be confused w/the recording company) from Musicamagne label, MR 10048.

  • o.o really?

  • Would like to know how to locate a recording of this piece. Thank you

  • What an instrument....amazing and beautiful.

  • wonderful!

  • A true angel!

  • The most unusual Ave Maria I've ever heard! I don't know if it's a nightingale but it seems to me that this voice is definitely not from this world! Bravissimo!

  • I understand that there are male sopranos, but are there any female bassos?

  • honestly sounds like a woman..but better. lol

  • Che voce cristallina. Ma per un uomo mi sembra esagerato, sorpassa la semplice efebicità di Jaroussky. Apprezzabile comunque.

  • wow!!!! what a voice!!!! Beautiful Sound!!! he scoop in like 2 parts of the song... but its ok. Overall...

    EXCELENT!!!!

    R 5

    judge1

  • Beautiful voice...wow...kind of scary to know it's a man though.

  • devine!

  • cold shivers....

  • Hi. If you go to the website 'discantica' dot 'it' and search under 'title' for Alia Vox you will be able to buy it. I obtained a copy for myself and another Radu admirer.

  • This was very very beautifull.Thank you very much for posting.

  • This is a masterpiece, makes me drop a tear..

  • would love to hear Greg Pritchard singing this - Greg are you listening!!

  • Greg has some ability, but at this point it is hard to tell. My having studied and listened to singing voices for many years, my guess would be that Greg has sung many hours, perhaps at home (and apparently with enthusiasm and joy); however, he appears to have had little if any training. The audience was surprised and liked him, but his voice was uncontrolled and strident. His choice of a tenor aria, raised an octave, was not a good choice. If well trained, he could have chosen Ave Maria.

  • As i understand it Greg has had no training whatsoever which to me makes him even more special and a raw talent. Yes, he could sing Ave Maria when trained and i look forward to hearing him sing it in the future as i am sure someone will offer him training.

  • BITTE NICHT!!!

  • Absolutely wonderful, no words can describe this voice.

  • Love this its one of my favourite pieces ever. Beautiful voice - bravo!!

  • so pure

  • C'est beau à pleurer.....

    A natural castrato....The most beautiful voice of all....So unique...

  • o_O a natural castrato?really???

  • Well, no. But sort of. Similar effect, but different reason. He's a fully developed male. XD

  • He's not a "natural castrato", but a natural soprano. Castrato is not natural. It's different. :)

  • Castrato was banned in I think 1930 he was born in 1977 so it's impossible for him to be a castrato although how is he a male soprano? Isn't it impossible. But I do not question God's work. :)

  • He is not a castrato indeed. :) Marian has a very special type of voice. He's a "male soprano" which means he can naturally sing in the high register of females, using his "modal" register, due to endocrinological reasons. Soprano is a vocal range for woman, but he's a man so he's a "male soprano" or "sopranist". His beautifully high voice is unquestionably rich, however. :)

  • yeah, and marijuana is banned in america, but WAIT! how did i smoke up last night? thats impossible!!!

  • Just because something is not legal doesn't mean it's not performed. Homicide was illegal before 1930, and it is often done nowdays.

    I suspect that some of the "natural" sopranos are not natural at all, and that castration is still performed to this day.

  • @bubblykings say it as it is ...one got balls the other has'nt LOL

  • the voice of Gabriel :)

  • love it

  • um sopranista e tanto... a gente jura que é uma soprano cantando... linda voz!!!

  • Its so relaxing, its so wonderful, its so divine...

     It can't be better then this....

  • Amazing.

  • Magnífico, um sopranino perfeito!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eu, como sou contraltino, entendo sua maneira de cantar, Radu é nosso anjo etrenamente!!!!!!!1

  • voce fala portuguese como eu muito bem

  • Each time I listen to his voice I am more amazed at the sheer beauty and pureity , I'm total addicted!!

  • I hope he gets a good manager...he would be known the world over..and get him his own web page ..That was SUBLIME

  • Um anjo, angel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Only the birds in the sky are singing in the same way.

  • Radu Marian singing this song is all the "proof" I need that yes...there is a God in this screwed up world...too beautiful for words.

  • How was his concert yesterday?

    Wish I had been able to go but it was too far!

    Didn't anybody film it illegally? :(

  • I want to be an operasinger so bad. :'( <3

  • Everybody who discovers his voice is enchanted! I can't get enough of it. I'm so happy I came across these vidoes.

    I think this is his most beautiful interpretation. He surpasses himself. It's the best interpretation I've ever heard of this piece and maybe this is not only due to his voice, but also to his faith that makes him sing with so much fervour

    His voice is incomparable, it reminds of a boy, a girl, a woman's soprano, but it's unlike anything I've ever heard. It reminds me of a songbird

  • (for vettae) I feel the same way about Radu's voice. In regards to "songbird": Male sopranos in the 16-19th century often were referred to as "nightingales," hence my use of nightingales in one of my Radu productions.

    I am hoping for more Radu recordings so that I may make more productions to share with other fans.

  • Tha twould be great :)

    I'm happy about all those you've posted already.

    Thank a lot :9

    Maybe I will go and listen to the concert in Vienna on December, 3. I'm so fond of his voice

  • Heh, if I lived in Austria, there would be no maybe. I wouldn't miss it for worlds. such a voice comes once a century if that since he sings this way naturally without any operation of any kind. Even in the 18th century, it was hit and miss. Vienna will not have heard such a voice since the days of Dal Prato and Ceccarelli (between 1780 & 1815). I hope you go.

  • I absolutely agree. Unfortunately I'm in the middle of Germany, 9 hours by car from Vienna - maybe a lot more if there is snow in the Alps...two nights at the hotel, the ticket, Diesel for 1800 kilometres. You just can't imagine how much I dream of going there, but it's so expensive. I have to find some people to share the fuel expenses, that would make it possible. Inch'Allah ;-)

  • Ah, c'est domage. I hope you can manage it. Viel glück. You will need it.

  • thanks philomelodia :-) is there any European language you don't speak? :)

  • Lots of them, actually. I don't speak any of the Slavic languages. I speak Spanish, English French German Italian, and Portuguese. I wish I could learn Finnish, Russian and Lithuanian.  I think they're cool languages. Greek would be interesting too. No time though.

  • lithuanian ha? linkiu sekmes :D

  • heh. Ne soprantu. What did you say?

  • nesupranti? I just wished you good luck :))

  • Please, please will you post all specifics for finding this recording? Cannot find it by the information given in responses, and certainly not in the USA. Help!

  • I didn't know there were natural adult male voices like that! Enchanting!

  • i would willingly pay to listen to him sing..its called talent...a unique talent, thanks again for posting this i keep coming back for more...

  • He sings fairly well but his diction is quite bad in this. many of the words were just mangled. Though his unique singing styling is of interst

  • Is Radu still singing?

  • Yes. Have a look at the bootlegged vids from budapest. Search Radu marian Albinoni budapest. Also, there are new ones showing him singing live back in 2004 posted by the accompanist on the harpsichord. Thsy show him quite clearly.

    watch?v=FSZDwobvhA0

  • This is a very special voice because it does not exist anymore. If you compare his voice to any of the male sopranos around today (that I have heard) it's just differnt. He sounds like a boy to me, who happens to sing very well with a truly penetrating sound. I would really like to hear him sing some coloratura.. anyone want to point me in the right direction?

  • You are "comparing apples with oranges;" they are two different things entirely.

  • I can comprehend why that spanish king become mad about Farinelli's voice....

  • This is so heartbreakingly beautiful. It moves mountains for me and brings to mind those immortal words from Shakespeare : "....and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest"...I am being sung to my rest this night. All is right with the world! Everything is as it should be for this moment...

  • Magnifique, j'en ai la chair de poule... merci

  • angels can not be able to sound like that.....

  • this sounds like nothing I've ever heard. Just unearthly!

  • can any one tell me were can i get his records??

  • Hi. If you go to the Italian website 'discantica' you will be able to find the CD Alia Vox which contains this very beautiful recording.

  • Wonderful!

    The best "Ave MAria" I ever heard. It touches my soul. Thank you so much for this music!

  • In my years of music research, I finally found the Ave Maria I had been hoping for.

  • Yes, I never think that a human singer can make such music (sorry for my bad english).

    I`m very happy that now I know Radus music.

  • I agree about the music. It IS heavenly, and your English is not bad, only should be "I never THOUGHT" NOT "think". Now someone teach me some Italian and German, please.

  • Bitte gehen Sie hinaus und umarmen Sie die Welt.

  • Damn he's missing out ..he needs a better manager...

  • yes, i do know, i got it. It's only that i was very amazedto really hear one...

  • i mean, yes, i know it's him. Bravo!! A quite unique gift!! Your voice exceeds imagination. Felicitari!!!

  • every time someone new hears his voice he gets another follower..he must have hundreds who have him to favorites..wonder if he knows??

  • wiat a minute: this cannot be a male!! It's impossible! And was he romanian?

  • this CAN be a male ;] and it IS possible ;]

  • wow beautiful!! i'm getting goose bumps as i listen to it, i did'nt even need to wait for you to finish to leave a comment. i want to hear lots more from you......

  • I thought exactly the same when i heard him for the fist time ...this song is my favorite from him ..*s*

  • The male soprani's voices are special , touching my soul ..

    great thanks !

  • he definitely has an interesting sound. i feel like he's somewhere between a boy soprano and a female soprano, lacking great support but making up for it with a really hypnotic purity...certainly well-suited for Bach's Ave Maria!

  • Magnificent!!it feels like im listening to a tiple.. :) im your fan ;)

  • beautiful. Sounds bird singing in the forest.

  • As you may know, the beautiful voices of the 18th-century opera castrati often were referred to as "nightingales" and the more elaborate arias as "nightingale arias." I, therefore, used that theme in one of my productions.

  • Damn i cant get enough of this ...just sooo beautiful...got to get the cd...

  • I just uploaded a revised video version of my favorite Bononcini cantata, Mentre in Placido Sonno con Flautti, Aria: Affettuso-Rittornello. The heading is "Radu Marian, Bononcini Aria, revised." It should be processed shortly.

  • great i cant wait thanks sfkcbf your doing a great job on radu..and a lot of people are getting pleasure from it ..thank you again Jed

  • oh my lord... such a perfect voice... the best Ave Maria I've ever heard

  • Yes. And did you hear his "Der hölle Rache"? It´s incredible...

  • Unbelievable. Thank you for the information, I've just heard it and I'm trembling...

    Can you recommend something else?

  • Maybe there are more recordings. You could write his name in the "search" window.

  • He sings "Der Hölle Rache" as a boy soprano, take a closer look at the video description.

  • Yes, his "Der Hölle Rache" is marvelous...

  • What´s the term: endocrinological castrato ???

  • That means his voice never broke due to some kind of medical/hormonal disorder

  • Thank you for the answer :-) But how is it possible? Is it an illness? I think because if he´s ill it isn´t a good example of the "sound" of castrats.

  • Well, the real castrato also didn't break as a result of the operation which caused the lack of necessary hormones.

    Anyway, I'm not a doctor, everything I know about this comes from reading a lot of Youtube comments :P

  • .. But: is he a castrato?

  • Wonderful!!This is the voise Ilike very much!

    Much much better than Alessandro Moreschi!

  • It's like Matt Bellamy...

  • I love the sound of male soprano voices.

    oh, so beautiful. I just want to melt. :)

  • stephen im new to this lovely music..i have been reading up on radu ..and the name jorge cano came up as a soprano..have you heard his voice if so is it like radu?? i have checked on here but nothing came up ..thanks

  • Thank you for your reply Stephen..i know i will get many hours of pleasure from listening to Radu *smile*

  • Is Radu famous..as this is the first time i have heard him sing..if not why not..that voice is worth a hundred other voices...its so beautiful.soothing.. soft..Thank you for posting this .i have it to favorites now *smile*

  • he reminds me of joselito..before he lost his voice..thank you for posting this its ssso nice...

  • such angelic voice, nice.

  • i love this song...