A countertenor is more of a male alto while castrati is a male soprano. And gharusa is correct, in the middle ages parents would have their son castrated before puberty because, believe it or not, castraties would be the Lady GaGa of today, not in talent, but fame, so families would be very wealthy. Don't believe me, look it up, also Handel wrote a lot of his operas for castrati, that is why they aren't performed as much today.
No. Castrato aint equal to counter tenor. Castrato has a higher range than counter tenor. For castrato, they are able to hit the high notes naturally, but for counter tenor, its re-enforced falsetto. The falsetto we usually hear sound weak, but people like this guy, he had to undergo serious training to strengthen his falsetto and thus achieving re-enforced falsetto.
@mauriciomille No. The castrati (sorry for the image) had the tubes to the testicles snipped before, or at the onset of puberty, so that testosterone was not produced in the normal levels.
@HerrWarja If you look at historical records, this is blatantly false. It may have been true for some, but the castrati were notoriously promiscuous and known for their exploits in their time.
@Unholycrimsonshoes Yes, yes, but it still doesn't change the fact that there genetalia is as much developed as a child. They never hit puberty. But of-corse there are other ways to satisfy a woman, haha!
Castrato and Counter tenor is EXACTLY THE SAME THING! the only difference is that in the middle ages they used to CASTRATE men literally to give them this soprano voice. Hence CASTRATO !! Nowadays one doesnt have to be castrated but just trains to sing this way.
@zetNaught ZET Thank YOU!!! I am very flattered with your comments. Must admit I like to extend my knowledge especially in the music field as it happens to be my first love.
Counter tenors and castrati are not the same thing (obviously!). But even the way the voice is developed is quite different. Counter tenors sing falsetto, which uses on the edge of the vocal chords. Castrati used the full vocal chord, which was shorter following castration, allowing the higher range. Interestingly, castrati would also have had a falsetto register, but I don't know if they used it much.
It is not the same: Castrati were - as the name already implies - castrated when they were boys and their voices had not mutated. They could produce a sound that must have been nothing like we can nowadays imagine. Countertenors, however, are male grown-ups who use their falsetto range to sing. And it depends on your physical disposition how high or low you can go with that register.
@zetNaught I mean hell, My balls are well intact and I have a range from upper bass all the way to Celine and opera notes. Its all in the training. I started training at 9 to keep my voice.
a castrato (musico) is different from a sopranist! a castrato has (perhaps "had" is more appropriate) a child's voice.
the practice of castrating boys before puberty to PRESERVE their voice, goes back to the bizantine empire (400AD), although castration of slaves or for punishment is way older. The practice went on until recently: there is supposed to be a RECORDING of a musico singing, and the practice was made illegal only in the past century. look it up.
@iamfrancisittv that's right!!! his name was Alessandro Morchesi. he died in 1922 or 1924. the recordings were done in 1902. not the best quality but for a mechanical recording device over 100 years old, its not bad
@gharusa they are not the same thing. the castrati had a completely different body structure than a normal person, very strong rib cage, long arms, weak joints. They're vocal chords also remained child size for the rest of their lives. But the combination of a powerful chest and tiny vocal chords gave them extraordinary control over their voices and their breathing. Castrati also grew up under a strict training regimen in singing, music theory, and composing.
@gharusa nothing can compare to the voices of the original castrati. they were rockstars of their era. read about Farinelli, he was one of the most famous ones.
@gharusa There is a big difference . A Castrato is cut . His voice does not naturaly deepen at puberty.He sings in natural voice. High because of the castration .He sings with the full power of a grown mans body. The ability to support and project his voice . A counter tenor is an affect. Singing in falsetto
@tenorismo I tend to competely disagree with you. Some Counter tenors can display quality of voices which are similar to female sopranos, without singing falsetto at all. I suggest you listen to Philippe Jaroussky. He definetely does not sing falsetto. I have a feeling you are NOT familiar with the term FALSETTO.
@gharusa Castrati and Countertenors are definitely not the same thing. The whole castration thing (whether by surgery or a malformation or a hormone deficiency that mimics a castration) still applies in order to be a castrato. That's why they still use the term and why there aren't many, if any, anymore. Arno Raunig is not a castrato, simply a male soprano.
@gharusa your exactly right, however, there are some differences between modern day sopranists and castrati in that a castrati's high voice would come more natural due to the lack of an onset of puberty, due to this, a castratis voice was much more powerful than a modern day sopranist or counter tenor.
@gharusa I don't think a castrato would have agreed with you. A counter tenor uses falsetto voice, whereas a castrato, being denied the possibility to develop a male voice in puberty, develops vocally in the same way as a woman's voice does, so, much more agile and richer than a counter tenor singing in the soprano range, generally. Moreover, they had bigger bodies than women so they might have had often more sonorous voices. Castration for vocal purposes is, by the way, not a medieval thing!
@gharusa ARE YOU SERIOUS? You obvious know no physiology, body science, nor the subject of castrati! If anything, Castrato's voice sounds more like a CHILD's than a man!! Regardless counter-tenor or not!! Castrati were castrated, so they received no secondary changes (due to hormonal abnormality) that occurs in a man. Even if counter-tenor trained from day 1, THEY STILL HAD THAT SECONDARY CHANGE to their voice!! That is irreversible!! regardless how proficient they are at training!!
@gharusa And yes, as mentioned below, counter-tenors use FALSETTO, castrati do not! And due to hormonal imbalance, they had much bigger lungs and cavity and were able to hold much more volume of breath. They are an experimental phenomenon. A pure vocal like a child's with singing capacity greater than your average tenors. Farenelli will be furious at your comment...
@gharusa Nonsense. Where did you learned, that in middle ages ‘they used to CASTRATE”? Before baroque times men sung as counter tenors, in baroque they fall into decline because castrati were much more better. Castrati had a modal voice, counter tenor is a head voice or modal voice & head voice. It is much more difficult to sing soprano for counter tenors and work out natural, rich timbre. Counter tenor is like a piano, castrato is like grand piano. Exception- Dariusz Paradowski…
You see? Be careful, then. I studied these things, too. That's why I don't like the way you said: balls off, etc.. Maybe we can still be friends, some day.
he`s not bad, very sparkling yet rich sound of voice, maybe a bit more practicing in the lower notes? But hey, i can`t do better and its not an easy piece
den kindern in gesangsschulen wurden dann irgndwann wenn ihre stimme am schönsten war kastriert. spric die eier warn weg ^^ und so blieb dann auch die stimme genauso.
GOOD GOOD GOOD SINGING!!!!!......................But, they should have worn the appropriate clothing! one must take a virtual 18th century stage with dash and daring! so get those frock coats and wigs!
This man is not claiming to be a castrato. He is a Sopranist singing the castrato repertoire. There are only so many times this can be explained. Can I urge those who are confused to google the different terms before commenting? There's no fraud here. Truly.
He has done a great job. You must be blind, otherwise you would change your mind, or at least give some reasons why he is bad. It is easy to say somebody is bad, please let us know why you think so. Only to say he is bad without any reason.... sounds like you are arrogant. Or do you think we have to find out by ourselves why it is bad? Well, if it is like that, than you're really arrogant and ignorant to people who love art. So Please let us know your true opinion.
@ jamalen who told u now all mail sopranos are falsetto?? i will asure you im not catrated nor i sing in falsetto lol..im a real natural sopranist :_) ahaha cheers lol
@hotvampangel LOL. Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to explain - that what we now have are not castrati, but two distinctly different voices; the falsettists and sopranists. Some comments earlier in the thread had confused these three different voices.
The male soprano voice is a thrilling thing to hear. Bravo!
Goodness, what a lot of nonsense in this thread about castrati! Of course there are no longer castrati. We have falsettists, who train to use the falsetto voice and are often called countertenors or male altos. But there are also men whose voices did not fully break at puberty, like Michael Maniaci. They have the range of a soprano, but it is a chest voice so can have more strength than a falsettist.
Does anyone who actually knows about music know if Raunig is a true sopranist?
i've always wondered though, why in the past they had to castrate boys for the sake of art... I mean, if there are male sopranos and countertenors who can produce this kind of tone, why did they have to do that ?
@theo9952 The falsetto voice is not a full chest voice with all the carrying power that brings. I imagine it began with a hope to preserve the most beautiful voices of boy sopranos. In the past women were not allowed to sing in church, so I suppose they had to improvise :)
improvise, indeed !!! hm, must be mainly the second, i think. I've been listening to sopranists lately -i didn't know of them before- and although their ability and technique is awesome, i don't like the sound they make as much as i like some counter tenors. but i guess this is what castratos must have sounded like...
@theo9952 If you want to hear a castrati then search for Alessandro Moreschi in youtube, there are some recordings from 1902 and 1904 where he sings (Moreschi was a castrati)
@theo9952 Well, from those recordings, though the bad quality of the sound, you still get the general picture what the castratis used to sound like. Atleast I do. If you don't then I suppouse you should learn more about these things
@theo9952 you have to take into account that the recording was made over 100 years ago and Moreschi was not that young at the time .We really will never know exactly what the castrati sounded like , although I believe that Andreas Scholl has the range of Senesino whom handel wrote for
@Jamaleen athough i believe that they do not train the falsetto but the real voice because as you correctly said their voices did not fully break at puberty so it s not falsetto it is the full real voice of them
@Jamaleen If this person in the video was really a castrati, he would not be bald, cause without testicles there would be no enough male hormones to start the balding process.
@Jamaleen Do you think that those voices like Michael Maniaci and Radu Marian could be compared with the greathness of those castrati like Farinelli, Caffarelli and many many others? I don't think so, that world of angelvoices is lost forever. We can only dream about their heavenly sounds and support our dreams with the rare, exceptional voices we have today. Also, very voice is different in many ways, so there is no "example" of how it has been I think..
@CornillieJunior Many of the castrati were castrated because they already had beautiful voices as boys. Today's sopranists have that voice by accident of physical circumstances. It's a matter of chance whether someone afflicted (or blessed) in this way will also have the gift of a voice. Of course we can't experience the thrill of the great voices of history, but on the other hand there is so much more technical training of today's singers that it may compensate. We'll never know. :)
@Jamaleen It may compensate, but there's more difference than just the height of the voice, castrating has a lot more influences on the body and those physical developments make certainly much difference with every aspect of the voice and the technique.
@Jamaleen Maniaci and Herr Raunig are both using a falsetto mechanism. I don't buy the "voice didn't fully break at puberty" crap. One can quite easily tell from the speaking voices of the above mentioned the voices have fully broken. They were just blessed with exceptional facility in higher tessituras and quite a lovely tone in said ranges; whereas, many others do not have such facility. THAT is the rarity, not some pretended genetic defect.
@pastasalademmm I have seen and heard it. He sounds like a tenor to me. Though, it seems as if, during the interview, he is purposefully trying to make his speaking voice sound higher, because it cracks at one point during speaking. The only definitive view would be under laryngealscopic analysis to look for cordal bowing or rigidification.
@Jamaleen Actually, there are currently some castrati in the world, but they chose to have the procedure done so as to be able to sing certain pieces as it was meant to be sung... we have one here where I live! But you're right that it's very rare, and there aren't a whole lot of recording available.
Why do they use countertenors to represent castrati? There's a matter of a whole lotta testosterone that changes the man's voice - hence why they made castrati. I realize there are no true castrati around these days but, well, don't do a concert on castrati if there are none to sing!
Ignorants ! singing as a conta tenor has nothing to do vith castrato, you just sing in falsetto wich all men have, but 95% havent trained it. A castrato had a totally different voice much stronger than a counter tenot can sing.And it is not unnatural at all, wee all can do it, but all havent a beautuful voice of course.
@UABOOTMM1 i really wonder what those real castrato`s would `ve sound like, since everybody says you can`t compare it with a countertenor at all. Is there some comparison possible?
if youd like to hear a male soprano, who isnt castrated, just search this here on youtube: "Vásáry André 5th element" ... he is a talented oper singer and became famous this year. If you like him, just comment or rate and i will answer you.
When women weren't allowed to sing in church, castrated males did it instead. I thought artificial contraceptives were not allowed by god? Castration is artificial, an 8 year olds testicals don't just fall of naturally. Therefore, the church during the time of castrati singers sinned in order to please their own kind.
1 /ˈaɪrəni, ˈaɪər-/ Show Spelled[ahy-ruh-nee, ahy-er-] Show IPA
noun,plural-nies.
1.
the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, How nice! when I said I had to work all weekend.
a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actuallyor ostensibly stated.
b.
(esp. in contemporary writing) a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to contradictory or complementaryimpulses, attitudes, etc., esp. as a means of indicating detachment from a subject, theme, or emotion.
The word castrati means castrated i believe in Italian but im not going to garuntee it. It was a common practice in the Barque era in order to keep a boy from having his voice grow deeper when he hit puberty. It mixes the high range of a women with the power of a mans voice. Back in Barque era, they we're equivalent to millionaires.
Are you trying to say the "Baroque" era? Actually, many of the castrati were poor and the vast majority of them were failures in their chosen (or not so chosen) profession. The word "castrati" is a means to identify them as a group. Like "illiminati" and so on.
@Shanniquitie So why do you think he is terrible? I don't understand. The notes were on the mark, he didn't have any overt tones that sounded bad. I am confused by your comment.
i wasn't refering to his technique, which is fine. the whole idea of countertenors, ie. men pretending to be castrati and singing with a wretched pseudo-voice terrifies me. The only people worthy of singing this way are those whom nature has made this way. Radu Marian, he is a perfect example.
Wow that is a strong opinion. I think most countertenors aren't singing high because they want to be castrati, they sing this way because they can. It is no different than a woman singing low into tenor range. When I was in my 20's I had a 4 octave range and it was my voice. I didn't use falsetto. In my case people use to poke fun because I sounded so much like a girl. I didn't want to be girl, but it was my voice and I could sing that way.
Head voice is involved in any note you sing, it is the ONLY way the voice can get resonance: in the head.
"Falsetto" is referred to a particular vocal register, notably used by men to sing one octave higher than their manly voice (wich is composed by the modal register and the high register, or even by another "whistle" register, wich sounds totally different).
Sometimes "head voice" is referred to the high vocal register (wich is kinda odd, ALL notes are sung in head voice...).
Attention: sometimes in old Italian school the term "falsetto" is used NOT referring to the "falsetto appoggiato" or "falsettone" of wich we are speaking! It is instead used as a mocking, referred to a voice wich is misplaced and so is defective in resonance and in armonics and control. Or even, sometimes, "falsetto" is referred to a too open, too uncovered and not very well diaphragmatical sound: but is a way to mock, too, because the correoriginal meaning of falsetto is not that.
When I hear the word "falsetto" I take it exactly as you describe it as a mocking word. You might as well say the "F***" word, it has the same reaction with me. I have seen a video by Brett Manning which shows examples of "head", "chest", "falsetto", which gives a very good demonstration of each sound. I will look for it and post it here.
But when "falsetto" is used by a vocally educated person is NEVER intended to be an offense: is a SCIENTIFIC term (word), used to describe a way of phonation. There is very much confusion about that, like about -sorry for this strange off-topic- the female orgasm: many women have uneasiness because they don't know how to let themselves go, they are even AFRAID. If they were taught that TO EJACULATE is perfectly NORMAL to women as to men, they would let themselves go and have better orgasms...
I am only offended when I sing in a non-falsetto fashion (as through my experience) and have people say that I am singing in falsetto. I believe I am singing in modal voice, all 3.5 octaves of it.
Well, actually the "high notes" are not sang in a pure modal register, but in a register that is halfway from the falsetto. To sing high notes require to understand the falsetto, because high notes are sung in a different vocal register (or else you need to belt your voice up to the high notes, screaming).
In your videos I recognize you used a voice wich LOOKS like falsetto but is not. But when you sing Paisiello or Giordanti you are using the falsetto, wich is totally fine...
Well I didn't try to sing in falsetto with those two arias. I have to take my vocal coach's word for it in that I am not singing in falsetto. He was a professional opera singer so I am sure he knows one way or the other.
Not all notes resonate in the head. I can sing some pretty low bass notes and I don't feel it in my head. I would assert that anyone can sing falsetto in a head or chest resonance. It is simply a very airy, light vocal production. Anything else I'd question as to whether it truly is falsetto. Just my opinion.
All notes resonates in the head: it was so decided and defined by Nature, by Phisical Laws. We can't help about that :P
If you feel your sound being elsewere you are just feeling some CONSONATION from your bones: usually in the low portion of the modal register you can feel some vibration in the chest, from the spinal column being transmitting some low frequencies to other bones of the chest. But RESONANCE is ONLY located in the retronasal and faringal section of the head.
In your video, wich I will not comment, your are sometimes using some kind of light and softened sound production, wich is not falsetto but could likely look falsetto (is the so called "head voice" being softened and used in a sort of "mezza voce"; yout good microphone and effects do all the rest). When you sing deliberately in falsetto one can easily tell (but to me you looks like you in falsetto don't support well with your diaphragma, the sound becoming downpitched and a little still).
wait a minute. he's singing in falsetto isn't he?
cclukebangladesh 2 weeks ago
say what you want, the guy has a GORGEOUS voice
AbuseDaForce 3 weeks ago
TROLOLLOL at 1:43 (literally)
gadgetboy1234 1 month ago
Heres another countertenor, watch?v=jLuy08eVQ3U
DanielAvilaAGT 2 months ago
i love my balls T_T i never change my balls for conserve my pubert voice D:
xXDarkMafhXx 3 months ago
Ugh how BADLY i wanna become a counter tenor/male soprano! jealous much i am! >_<
kuponut26 3 months ago
A countertenor is more of a male alto while castrati is a male soprano. And gharusa is correct, in the middle ages parents would have their son castrated before puberty because, believe it or not, castraties would be the Lady GaGa of today, not in talent, but fame, so families would be very wealthy. Don't believe me, look it up, also Handel wrote a lot of his operas for castrati, that is why they aren't performed as much today.
BakedDoritos1015 3 months ago
No. Castrato aint equal to counter tenor. Castrato has a higher range than counter tenor. For castrato, they are able to hit the high notes naturally, but for counter tenor, its re-enforced falsetto. The falsetto we usually hear sound weak, but people like this guy, he had to undergo serious training to strengthen his falsetto and thus achieving re-enforced falsetto.
ryuseki 5 months ago 3
He really have balls enought to sing this song (or not)
HenriRN 5 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
if this isnt fake its gay
junkheadrev 6 months ago
NO KREO M SEA UN CASTRATO, PARA MI ES CONTRATENOR
solouyo 10 months ago
Male altos or counter tenors sing falsetto...Male sopranos or sopranists don't sing in falsetto!
stephenconnorrhys 11 months ago
beautiful
danielairy 11 months ago
OMG what a sick voice :P
Somipro95 1 year ago
I suppose we're doomed to have to post this as a public service every few months for those who haven't read the whole thread.
This man is not a castrato. He is a counter-tenor or sopranist who is singing the counter-tenor repertoire.
Jamaleen 1 year ago
for have to be castrati really needs to take off your testicles?....
mauriciomille 1 year ago
@mauriciomille No. The castrati (sorry for the image) had the tubes to the testicles snipped before, or at the onset of puberty, so that testosterone was not produced in the normal levels.
Unholycrimsonshoes 1 year ago
Castrati can still get erections, have sex, and orgasm, but with no semen.
xavyier 1 year ago
@xavyier The desire to have sex isn't present with in a castrato.
HerrWarja 1 year ago
@HerrWarja If you look at historical records, this is blatantly false. It may have been true for some, but the castrati were notoriously promiscuous and known for their exploits in their time.
Unholycrimsonshoes 1 year ago
@Unholycrimsonshoes Yes, yes, but it still doesn't change the fact that there genetalia is as much developed as a child. They never hit puberty. But of-corse there are other ways to satisfy a woman, haha!
HerrWarja 1 year ago
if I was a man, I will suicide by having woman's voice and no balls...
nenaermoza 1 year ago
omg...thats is soo fu**ing gay xD
TheVigi1990 1 year ago
It's a fella !!!
405liner 1 year ago
is he castrated?
kalllesvensson 1 year ago
@kalllesvensson wanna watch his balls?
BlackSanotaru 1 year ago
ZET Have you heard Phillipe Jaroussky (counter tenor) singing ??? What a voice!!! just like the most accomplished soprano with an angelic voice!!!!
gharusa 1 year ago
Castrato and Counter tenor is EXACTLY THE SAME THING! the only difference is that in the middle ages they used to CASTRATE men literally to give them this soprano voice. Hence CASTRATO !! Nowadays one doesnt have to be castrated but just trains to sing this way.
gharusa 1 year ago 17
@gharusa
Finally!!! One-out-of-sevenhundredandsixtyfive intelligent person! Congrats!
Thank you!
zetNaught 1 year ago 14
@zetNaught ZET Thank YOU!!! I am very flattered with your comments. Must admit I like to extend my knowledge especially in the music field as it happens to be my first love.
gharusa 1 year ago
@zetNaught
Counter tenors and castrati are not the same thing (obviously!). But even the way the voice is developed is quite different. Counter tenors sing falsetto, which uses on the edge of the vocal chords. Castrati used the full vocal chord, which was shorter following castration, allowing the higher range. Interestingly, castrati would also have had a falsetto register, but I don't know if they used it much.
rix657 1 year ago
@zetNaught and @gharusa: I don't mean to be bitchty but:
It is not the same: Castrati were - as the name already implies - castrated when they were boys and their voices had not mutated. They could produce a sound that must have been nothing like we can nowadays imagine. Countertenors, however, are male grown-ups who use their falsetto range to sing. And it depends on your physical disposition how high or low you can go with that register.
singingorpheus 1 year ago 2
@zetNaught I mean hell, My balls are well intact and I have a range from upper bass all the way to Celine and opera notes. Its all in the training. I started training at 9 to keep my voice.
sir118 1 year ago
@zetNaught
a castrato (musico) is different from a sopranist! a castrato has (perhaps "had" is more appropriate) a child's voice.
the practice of castrating boys before puberty to PRESERVE their voice, goes back to the bizantine empire (400AD), although castration of slaves or for punishment is way older. The practice went on until recently: there is supposed to be a RECORDING of a musico singing, and the practice was made illegal only in the past century. look it up.
iamfrancisittv 1 year ago
@iamfrancisittv
Hi,
Arno has a trained soprano voice. He is not a castrate and not a countertenor (although similar).
Best regards.
zetNaught 1 year ago
@zetNaught
glad you made your mind up
cheers
iamfrancisittv 1 year ago
@iamfrancisittv
I didn't. These were always known facts to me.
Arno Raunig is a friend of mine, his voice is unique, as you might have found out.
Please buy his CDs and recommend them to your friends!
Cheers to you.
zetNaught 1 year ago
@iamfrancisittv that's right!!! his name was Alessandro Morchesi. he died in 1922 or 1924. the recordings were done in 1902. not the best quality but for a mechanical recording device over 100 years old, its not bad
51m0n77 1 year ago
@gharusa they are not the same thing. the castrati had a completely different body structure than a normal person, very strong rib cage, long arms, weak joints. They're vocal chords also remained child size for the rest of their lives. But the combination of a powerful chest and tiny vocal chords gave them extraordinary control over their voices and their breathing. Castrati also grew up under a strict training regimen in singing, music theory, and composing.
sjpc33 1 year ago
@gharusa nothing can compare to the voices of the original castrati. they were rockstars of their era. read about Farinelli, he was one of the most famous ones.
sjpc33 1 year ago
@gharusa There is a big difference . A Castrato is cut . His voice does not naturaly deepen at puberty.He sings in natural voice. High because of the castration .He sings with the full power of a grown mans body. The ability to support and project his voice . A counter tenor is an affect. Singing in falsetto
tenorismo 1 year ago
@tenorismo I tend to competely disagree with you. Some Counter tenors can display quality of voices which are similar to female sopranos, without singing falsetto at all. I suggest you listen to Philippe Jaroussky. He definetely does not sing falsetto. I have a feeling you are NOT familiar with the term FALSETTO.
gharusa 1 year ago
@gharusa Castrati and Countertenors are definitely not the same thing. The whole castration thing (whether by surgery or a malformation or a hormone deficiency that mimics a castration) still applies in order to be a castrato. That's why they still use the term and why there aren't many, if any, anymore. Arno Raunig is not a castrato, simply a male soprano.
kdee15 1 year ago
@gharusa your exactly right, however, there are some differences between modern day sopranists and castrati in that a castrati's high voice would come more natural due to the lack of an onset of puberty, due to this, a castratis voice was much more powerful than a modern day sopranist or counter tenor.
Imacool22 1 year ago
@gharusa it is VERY different. Different physicality and vocal fold closure. I wish that you were correct, but you are not
vitroz 11 months ago
@gharusa .... the only difference? Castration i's a huge difference!! :D
Tyler921000 8 months ago
@gharusa I don't think a castrato would have agreed with you. A counter tenor uses falsetto voice, whereas a castrato, being denied the possibility to develop a male voice in puberty, develops vocally in the same way as a woman's voice does, so, much more agile and richer than a counter tenor singing in the soprano range, generally. Moreover, they had bigger bodies than women so they might have had often more sonorous voices. Castration for vocal purposes is, by the way, not a medieval thing!
arvanitsa 7 months ago
@gharusa phuuu 1920 ...bit late for the middle ages (:
jesuschrist14 7 months ago
@gharusa ARE YOU SERIOUS? You obvious know no physiology, body science, nor the subject of castrati! If anything, Castrato's voice sounds more like a CHILD's than a man!! Regardless counter-tenor or not!! Castrati were castrated, so they received no secondary changes (due to hormonal abnormality) that occurs in a man. Even if counter-tenor trained from day 1, THEY STILL HAD THAT SECONDARY CHANGE to their voice!! That is irreversible!! regardless how proficient they are at training!!
aiayumi 7 months ago
@gharusa And yes, as mentioned below, counter-tenors use FALSETTO, castrati do not! And due to hormonal imbalance, they had much bigger lungs and cavity and were able to hold much more volume of breath. They are an experimental phenomenon. A pure vocal like a child's with singing capacity greater than your average tenors. Farenelli will be furious at your comment...
aiayumi 7 months ago
@gharusa Nonsense. Where did you learned, that in middle ages ‘they used to CASTRATE”? Before baroque times men sung as counter tenors, in baroque they fall into decline because castrati were much more better. Castrati had a modal voice, counter tenor is a head voice or modal voice & head voice. It is much more difficult to sing soprano for counter tenors and work out natural, rich timbre. Counter tenor is like a piano, castrato is like grand piano. Exception- Dariusz Paradowski…
2010wieliczka 5 months ago
this isnt REAL castrato is it? i thought they stoped way back in the day?
peppy6078 1 year ago
where are his balls?
Wakeupdream 1 year ago
@Wakeupdream
If you happen to be male: Where are yours?
If you're female: ask your Daddy where he keeps his ;-)
zetNaught 1 year ago
@zetNaught
That´s too much!!!Nothing about my parents you silly peace of shit!!!
Fuck you!
Wakeupdream 1 year ago
@Wakeupdream
OK. You seem to be a brainless retard. End of conversation.
zetNaught 1 year ago
i cant imagine being a castrati that would be sooooooooooooo fucking horrible
darkwolve16 1 year ago
@darkwolve16
you dumb ass! your comment is sooooooooo fucking useless.
sorry. can't avoid it.
zetNaught 1 year ago
@zetNaught you sir, should have your balls cut off in the name of music
darkwolve16 1 year ago
@darkwolve16
I already knew you are some kind of nazi idiot.
zetNaught 1 year ago
@zetNaught how does this make me a nazi
darkwolve16 1 year ago
@darkwolve16
Threatening other people with castration (or some such thing), like you did, reminds me of the darkest era in the 20th century. Think about it.
zetNaught 1 year ago
@zetNaught this is almost ironic since im studying the holocaust
darkwolve16 1 year ago
@darkwolve16
You see? Be careful, then. I studied these things, too. That's why I don't like the way you said: balls off, etc.. Maybe we can still be friends, some day.
zetNaught 1 year ago
@zetNaught my bad but being a castrati just doesnt seem to glamourous
darkwolve16 1 year ago
@darkwolve16
it's one castrato and several castrati (italian singular and plural).
Apart from that: he isn't.
zetNaught 1 year ago
I love it!
johennie 1 year ago
aufgrund seines testosteronbedingten Haarausfalls, kann er ja kein Kastrat sein.
Das wird wohl eher eine Alt-Stimme sein.klingt aber wirklich sehr gut
Aronas76 1 year ago
just for the record, i love youtube
pastasalademmm 1 year ago
he`s not bad, very sparkling yet rich sound of voice, maybe a bit more practicing in the lower notes? But hey, i can`t do better and its not an easy piece
thumbs up arno
pastasalademmm 1 year ago
I loved it. Congratulations, you have a wonderful voice. Doesn't matter about been Castrati or not. Bravo!
Clodoaldo1 1 year ago
More like an alto.
lty2k84 1 year ago
@lty2k84 i should say a supple mezzo
pastasalademmm 1 year ago
His balls's definitely broke.
voncoolio 1 year ago
He is terrific, and just playful enough for the piece. And I must say, his physical appearance juxtaposed against his voice is good fun!
easyfriend71 1 year ago
he's kastraten..........
ladyvegetable 1 year ago
1 HUGE #FAIL
sooperfukker 1 year ago
He certainly has a very beautiful sound.
ttellerx 1 year ago
still waiting for two counter tenors to sing the flower duet from lakme... I think it would sound very interesting
Keytaster 1 year ago
He sure can sing! It's amazing!
LindaDooWop 1 year ago
Great voce....
Awesome!!
I want his voice... but I Prefer my balls hehe
EddieValdivia 1 year ago
good to see a natural castro
TheOneAndOnly699 1 year ago
@TheOneAndOnly699 He's not!
dawnrader 1 year ago
@KlabusterUlf ne keine eier. ohne schiß is so
den kindern in gesangsschulen wurden dann irgndwann wenn ihre stimme am schönsten war kastriert. spric die eier warn weg ^^ und so blieb dann auch die stimme genauso.
CheyTaCOpTix 1 year ago
GOOD GOOD GOOD SINGING!!!!!......................But, they should have worn the appropriate clothing! one must take a virtual 18th century stage with dash and daring! so get those frock coats and wigs!
acerb45666555 1 year ago
Beautiful voice! I must admit, it is a peculiar sensation to place the face to the voice, but one cannot deny the beauty and talent.
kittyroosky 1 year ago
beautiful indeed
AmericanBrian 1 year ago
what a shame this video is fragmenting
Renaissance3950 1 year ago
Who's the cute youngish looking fellow in this here video? Any helpful suggestions would be welcome please, and NO SWEARING?!
bagpuss211 1 year ago
yo tengo los huevos mas grandes que una casa, pero en falsete llega cualquiera!!! se corto las bolas al pedo pobre jajajajajajajajajaja
Orsonpitbull 1 year ago
this man is one castrati?????? I think that nowadays it's difficult to allow someone to be castrato. Sorry for my english as I'm spanish
suPermaRtuni 1 year ago
This man is not claiming to be a castrato. He is a Sopranist singing the castrato repertoire. There are only so many times this can be explained. Can I urge those who are confused to google the different terms before commenting? There's no fraud here. Truly.
Jamaleen 1 year ago
I don't trust my eyes.. isn't it fake? I hear a woman, but i sea a man!
I read about Faranelli,but i doubt, that there are any castratos these days.
This is weird!
DrBTrueger 1 year ago
Some one who knows one or two things about singing. And he lacks a lot of techniqe. He perhaps has the notes, but he doesn't know how to use them.
counteralto 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
BAD BAD BAD SINGING!!!!!!
counteralto 1 year ago
@counteralto
And WHO are you, to say so, please?
zetNaught 1 year ago 2
@counteralto
yeah sure.... you sing good good good!
zieggenmelker 1 year ago
@counteralto
He has done a great job. You must be blind, otherwise you would change your mind, or at least give some reasons why he is bad. It is easy to say somebody is bad, please let us know why you think so. Only to say he is bad without any reason.... sounds like you are arrogant. Or do you think we have to find out by ourselves why it is bad? Well, if it is like that, than you're really arrogant and ignorant to people who love art. So Please let us know your true opinion.
peidaer 1 year ago
Incredible that a man is singing that! Amazing!
snapemania 1 year ago
@ jamalen who told u now all mail sopranos are falsetto?? i will asure you im not catrated nor i sing in falsetto lol..im a real natural sopranist :_) ahaha cheers lol
hotvampangel 1 year ago
@hotvampangel LOL. Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to explain - that what we now have are not castrati, but two distinctly different voices; the falsettists and sopranists. Some comments earlier in the thread had confused these three different voices.
The male soprano voice is a thrilling thing to hear. Bravo!
Jamaleen 1 year ago
:-) grazie happy to meet. u here and hope to know u soon :-)
hotvampangel 1 year ago
а по внешности не скажешь....!
Lizyukova 1 year ago
Rob Halford
fashank22 1 year ago
Goodness, what a lot of nonsense in this thread about castrati! Of course there are no longer castrati. We have falsettists, who train to use the falsetto voice and are often called countertenors or male altos. But there are also men whose voices did not fully break at puberty, like Michael Maniaci. They have the range of a soprano, but it is a chest voice so can have more strength than a falsettist.
Does anyone who actually knows about music know if Raunig is a true sopranist?
Jamaleen 2 years ago 5
Yes, he is a true soprano voice.
Greetings, Oliver Zehner
zetNaught 1 year ago
oooow srry dear i now realise i what u said sorry sorry sorry :-)
hotvampangel 1 year ago
@Jamaleen
i've always wondered though, why in the past they had to castrate boys for the sake of art... I mean, if there are male sopranos and countertenors who can produce this kind of tone, why did they have to do that ?
theo9952 1 year ago
@theo9952 The falsetto voice is not a full chest voice with all the carrying power that brings. I imagine it began with a hope to preserve the most beautiful voices of boy sopranos. In the past women were not allowed to sing in church, so I suppose they had to improvise :)
Jamaleen 1 year ago
@Jamaleen
improvise, indeed !!! hm, must be mainly the second, i think. I've been listening to sopranists lately -i didn't know of them before- and although their ability and technique is awesome, i don't like the sound they make as much as i like some counter tenors. but i guess this is what castratos must have sounded like...
theo9952 1 year ago
@theo9952 If you want to hear a castrati then search for Alessandro Moreschi in youtube, there are some recordings from 1902 and 1904 where he sings (Moreschi was a castrati)
emiliatrag 1 year ago
@emiliatrag
i already have . unfortunately, the extremely low fidelity of the Moreschi recordings,
leaves much to be desired...
theo9952 1 year ago
@theo9952 Well, from those recordings, though the bad quality of the sound, you still get the general picture what the castratis used to sound like. Atleast I do. If you don't then I suppouse you should learn more about these things
emiliatrag 1 year ago
@theo9952 you have to take into account that the recording was made over 100 years ago and Moreschi was not that young at the time .We really will never know exactly what the castrati sounded like , although I believe that Andreas Scholl has the range of Senesino whom handel wrote for
Renaissance3950 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@Jamaleen athough i believe that they do not train the falsetto but the real voice because as you correctly said their voices did not fully break at puberty so it s not falsetto it is the full real voice of them
GreekOperaLover 1 year ago
@Jamaleen If this person in the video was really a castrati, he would not be bald, cause without testicles there would be no enough male hormones to start the balding process.
jerryaltman 1 year ago
@Jamaleen Vitas.
lcoz145 1 year ago
@lcoz145 Very interesting voice. Thank you.
Jamaleen 1 year ago
@Jamaleen Do you think that those voices like Michael Maniaci and Radu Marian could be compared with the greathness of those castrati like Farinelli, Caffarelli and many many others? I don't think so, that world of angelvoices is lost forever. We can only dream about their heavenly sounds and support our dreams with the rare, exceptional voices we have today. Also, very voice is different in many ways, so there is no "example" of how it has been I think..
CornillieJunior 1 year ago
@CornillieJunior Many of the castrati were castrated because they already had beautiful voices as boys. Today's sopranists have that voice by accident of physical circumstances. It's a matter of chance whether someone afflicted (or blessed) in this way will also have the gift of a voice. Of course we can't experience the thrill of the great voices of history, but on the other hand there is so much more technical training of today's singers that it may compensate. We'll never know. :)
Jamaleen 1 year ago
@Jamaleen It may compensate, but there's more difference than just the height of the voice, castrating has a lot more influences on the body and those physical developments make certainly much difference with every aspect of the voice and the technique.
CornillieJunior 1 year ago
@Jamaleen Maniaci and Herr Raunig are both using a falsetto mechanism. I don't buy the "voice didn't fully break at puberty" crap. One can quite easily tell from the speaking voices of the above mentioned the voices have fully broken. They were just blessed with exceptional facility in higher tessituras and quite a lovely tone in said ranges; whereas, many others do not have such facility. THAT is the rarity, not some pretended genetic defect.
CountertenorJ 1 year ago
@CountertenorJ you should watch `Michael Maniaci talks about his voice` there hes speaking, to me he sounds quite female, wad`ya think?
pastasalademmm 1 year ago
@pastasalademmm I have seen and heard it. He sounds like a tenor to me. Though, it seems as if, during the interview, he is purposefully trying to make his speaking voice sound higher, because it cracks at one point during speaking. The only definitive view would be under laryngealscopic analysis to look for cordal bowing or rigidification.
CountertenorJ 1 year ago
@CountertenorJ hmm, sounds scary enough for me...
pastasalademmm 1 year ago
@Jamaleen Actually, there are currently some castrati in the world, but they chose to have the procedure done so as to be able to sing certain pieces as it was meant to be sung... we have one here where I live! But you're right that it's very rare, and there aren't a whole lot of recording available.
gysx100 1 year ago
@Jamaleen
He is a counter tenor. It says so on his website. But he claims to have developed some of the tone of the castrati.
rix657 1 year ago
Increible !!!! muy bien :D
moyduarte 2 years ago
eso es falceti?
josoma123 2 years ago
Why do they use countertenors to represent castrati? There's a matter of a whole lotta testosterone that changes the man's voice - hence why they made castrati. I realize there are no true castrati around these days but, well, don't do a concert on castrati if there are none to sing!
Nathan1097 2 years ago
lol
WoWmoneymanWoW 2 years ago
Ignorants ! singing as a conta tenor has nothing to do vith castrato, you just sing in falsetto wich all men have, but 95% havent trained it. A castrato had a totally different voice much stronger than a counter tenot can sing.And it is not unnatural at all, wee all can do it, but all havent a beautuful voice of course.
UABOOTMM1 2 years ago 5
@UABOOTMM1 i really wonder what those real castrato`s would `ve sound like, since everybody says you can`t compare it with a countertenor at all. Is there some comparison possible?
pastasalademmm 1 year ago
Comment removed
lalobarrera99 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@UABOOTMM1 do know about a video where we can hear a real castrati ????
lalobarrera99 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@UABOOTMM1 do you know about a video where we can hear a real castrati ????
lalobarrera99 1 year ago
Gosh!!!!!
snapemania 2 years ago
if youd like to hear a male soprano, who isnt castrated, just search this here on youtube: "Vásáry André 5th element" ... he is a talented oper singer and became famous this year. If you like him, just comment or rate and i will answer you.
Myrtusz1 2 years ago
Did they hire him only because he's a man?? It sound horrible. A cry for help!
OstrasDeNoruega 2 years ago
When women weren't allowed to sing in church, castrated males did it instead. I thought artificial contraceptives were not allowed by god? Castration is artificial, an 8 year olds testicals don't just fall of naturally. Therefore, the church during the time of castrati singers sinned in order to please their own kind.
MorkaGraven 2 years ago
This is just not natural.
MorkaGraven 2 years ago
is he a real castrati? Do they still do that to boys to keep their voices high?
quuquui 2 years ago
Alright, here in Europe we castrate every boy wich is not the firstborn. It is an ancient tradition.
Almost every european is castrated.
You cannot understand.
edraith 2 years ago
What the hell are you talking about?! Idiot.
CardinalDextrous83 2 years ago
Oh my god, are you normal?
Buy a dictionary and search "irony". Maybe next time you won't be so harsh and offensive about a stupid joke.
edraith 2 years ago
are you really sure?? maybe u circumcise the first born nopt castrate....gosh here in itlay i dont think so :-)
hotvampangel 1 year ago
i·ro·ny
1 /ˈaɪrəni, ˈaɪər-/ Show Spelled[ahy-ruh-nee, ahy-er-] Show IPA
noun,plural-nies.
1.
the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, How nice! when I said I had to work all weekend.
edraith 1 year ago
2.
Literature.
a.
a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actuallyor ostensibly stated.
b.
(esp. in contemporary writing) a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to contradictory or complementaryimpulses, attitudes, etc., esp. as a means of indicating detachment from a subject, theme, or emotion.
3.
Socratic irony.
4.
dramatic irony.
edraith 1 year ago
5.
an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.
6.
the incongruity of this.
7.
an objectively sardonic style of speech or writing.
edraith 1 year ago
WTF, I wasn't expecting THAT!!
huntmatuk 2 years ago 2
The word castrati means castrated i believe in Italian but im not going to garuntee it. It was a common practice in the Barque era in order to keep a boy from having his voice grow deeper when he hit puberty. It mixes the high range of a women with the power of a mans voice. Back in Barque era, they we're equivalent to millionaires.
tarheelnation09 2 years ago 9
duh!
Guichotpresident 2 years ago
Are you trying to say the "Baroque" era? Actually, many of the castrati were poor and the vast majority of them were failures in their chosen (or not so chosen) profession. The word "castrati" is a means to identify them as a group. Like "illiminati" and so on.
subsamadhi 2 years ago
shes right it means castrated....i'm a real italian :-)
hotvampangel 1 year ago
Yes, "castrati" is the plural for "castrato". Eviration for musical purposes was common in Italy in the baroque epoca.
But the castrati where not milionaires: at the opposite, they lived very sad lifes. Very sad, for many reasons.
edraith 2 years ago
sad but beautiful. we all suffer, at least some of them achieved greatness.
this man in the video is terrible.
Shanniquitie 2 years ago
@Shanniquitie So why do you think he is terrible? I don't understand. The notes were on the mark, he didn't have any overt tones that sounded bad. I am confused by your comment.
Chris
mradaChris 2 years ago
i wasn't refering to his technique, which is fine. the whole idea of countertenors, ie. men pretending to be castrati and singing with a wretched pseudo-voice terrifies me. The only people worthy of singing this way are those whom nature has made this way. Radu Marian, he is a perfect example.
This is only my opinion.
Shanniquitie 2 years ago
Wow that is a strong opinion. I think most countertenors aren't singing high because they want to be castrati, they sing this way because they can. It is no different than a woman singing low into tenor range. When I was in my 20's I had a 4 octave range and it was my voice. I didn't use falsetto. In my case people use to poke fun because I sounded so much like a girl. I didn't want to be girl, but it was my voice and I could sing that way.
mradaChris 2 years ago
Every countertenor uses falsetto.
edraith 2 years ago
I disagree. There are clear differences between using one's head voice versus falsetto.
mradaChris 2 years ago
Alright.
Head voice is involved in any note you sing, it is the ONLY way the voice can get resonance: in the head.
"Falsetto" is referred to a particular vocal register, notably used by men to sing one octave higher than their manly voice (wich is composed by the modal register and the high register, or even by another "whistle" register, wich sounds totally different).
Sometimes "head voice" is referred to the high vocal register (wich is kinda odd, ALL notes are sung in head voice...).
edraith 2 years ago
Attention: sometimes in old Italian school the term "falsetto" is used NOT referring to the "falsetto appoggiato" or "falsettone" of wich we are speaking! It is instead used as a mocking, referred to a voice wich is misplaced and so is defective in resonance and in armonics and control. Or even, sometimes, "falsetto" is referred to a too open, too uncovered and not very well diaphragmatical sound: but is a way to mock, too, because the correoriginal meaning of falsetto is not that.
edraith 2 years ago
When I hear the word "falsetto" I take it exactly as you describe it as a mocking word. You might as well say the "F***" word, it has the same reaction with me. I have seen a video by Brett Manning which shows examples of "head", "chest", "falsetto", which gives a very good demonstration of each sound. I will look for it and post it here.
mradaChris 2 years ago
But when "falsetto" is used by a vocally educated person is NEVER intended to be an offense: is a SCIENTIFIC term (word), used to describe a way of phonation. There is very much confusion about that, like about -sorry for this strange off-topic- the female orgasm: many women have uneasiness because they don't know how to let themselves go, they are even AFRAID. If they were taught that TO EJACULATE is perfectly NORMAL to women as to men, they would let themselves go and have better orgasms...
edraith 2 years ago
I am only offended when I sing in a non-falsetto fashion (as through my experience) and have people say that I am singing in falsetto. I believe I am singing in modal voice, all 3.5 octaves of it.
mradaChris 2 years ago
Well, actually the "high notes" are not sang in a pure modal register, but in a register that is halfway from the falsetto. To sing high notes require to understand the falsetto, because high notes are sung in a different vocal register (or else you need to belt your voice up to the high notes, screaming).
In your videos I recognize you used a voice wich LOOKS like falsetto but is not. But when you sing Paisiello or Giordanti you are using the falsetto, wich is totally fine...
edraith 2 years ago 2
Well I didn't try to sing in falsetto with those two arias. I have to take my vocal coach's word for it in that I am not singing in falsetto. He was a professional opera singer so I am sure he knows one way or the other.
mradaChris 2 years ago
but brett manning sucks... his extreme ranges sound like crap so i wouldn't go by that as an example
SquallPwnLife 2 years ago
I am sure I quoted his example as they were extreme enough to get the point across. I wouldn't base any of my tones on anything he has shown.
chris
mradaChris 2 years ago
Not all notes resonate in the head. I can sing some pretty low bass notes and I don't feel it in my head. I would assert that anyone can sing falsetto in a head or chest resonance. It is simply a very airy, light vocal production. Anything else I'd question as to whether it truly is falsetto. Just my opinion.
mradaChris 2 years ago
All notes resonates in the head: it was so decided and defined by Nature, by Phisical Laws. We can't help about that :P
If you feel your sound being elsewere you are just feeling some CONSONATION from your bones: usually in the low portion of the modal register you can feel some vibration in the chest, from the spinal column being transmitting some low frequencies to other bones of the chest. But RESONANCE is ONLY located in the retronasal and faringal section of the head.
edraith 2 years ago
In your video, wich I will not comment, your are sometimes using some kind of light and softened sound production, wich is not falsetto but could likely look falsetto (is the so called "head voice" being softened and used in a sort of "mezza voce"; yout good microphone and effects do all the rest). When you sing deliberately in falsetto one can easily tell (but to me you looks like you in falsetto don't support well with your diaphragma, the sound becoming downpitched and a little still).
edraith 2 years ago
Was this for me?
mradaChris 2 years ago
Oh, I don't know, the whole thing is gettin so screwed up xD
There is a message replying to Shanniquitie, and a message replying to you.
But we better continue via private messages, because we willbegin to spam and the whole message board will get unclear like in this very moment.
edraith 2 years ago
thats what im facing urgh but my voice isnt gonna change im almost 20 and im a pure soprano :-( im proud though
hotvampangel 1 year ago