Russell Oberlin in Recital (Part One of Four)

Here we have the American Countertenor Russell Oberlin in recital.

1. Henry Purcell: Music for awhile

Category:

Music

Tags:

• countertenor
• russell
• oberlin
• recital
• henry
• purcell
• music
• for
• awhile
• male
• alto
• contratenor
• contraltista
• haute
• contre

[kgus123]

Russell Oberlin! I haven't heard this name (or voice) in decades.

He may sound "different" from the big name countertenors we hear today, but his voice was similar to his contemporaries.

It's been interesting listening to the "evolution" of countertenors over the last 40 years; the naturalness, power ,and flexibitiliy of a Daniels, Scholl, or Dumaux didn't exist when I started listening to early music.

Thanks for this trip down memory lane.

[CubbyNH]

Your welcome, im glad you enjoyed it. When i said differnt, it was in a good way. I just feel that there is a naturalness to his voice than some of the others.

[lalagonegaga]

Thanks for uploading this. Very interesting to hear and see this artist at work.

[CubbyNH]

Your welcome, I think so as well. His voice is... well differnt sounding to me.

[MrTristan1983]

I agree on Mr. Oberlin sounding more natural than some other great singers. One way of describing it is indeed that it's his natural voice. There are actually many different voice types within the term "countertenor". Mr. Oberlin has the type that is sometimes referred to as "tenor altino" or "high tenor".

[Walvis2007]

Amazing.

[gotohell714]

@xbasket12x oh sure, the youth are all dancing in the streets to this very number.

[xbasket12x]

This is so beautiful....would it be weird if I'm 14 and was deeply enjoying this? Because I'm sure not many people around my age listen to this sort of music....

[SquallPwnLife]

@kgus123 i just stumbled across this guy singing dowland, he certainly didn't strike me as a classic countertenor voice but more of a female lead in a musical or something. he's got this strange (but rather pleasant) tone but i have to say he's very good even if he doesn't have the range of some of his contemporaries

[restlesspride666]

:] He has the same voice as me, a very high tenor, basically a contralto. I think he breaks at a high A-Bb (4th A or Bb on a piano) like I do.

[jaypenn123]

thanks for posting this. i'm embarrassed to admit that until today, I had never heard Mr. Oberlin. What a treasure!

[MrTristan1983]

I hope I'm not getting too theoretical here. Can't help myself. ;=) If you're interested in sharing thoughts, feel free to contact me or check Peter Giles' book "The Counter Tenor". I am myself also taking voice lessons. I am a tenor and it is interesting that listening to Mr. Oberlin and singing along with him has actually helped me find my tenor head voice. Keep on enjoying great singing, folks. :=)

[MrTristan1983]

There are also two kinds of "falsetto" voices. The lower one of these is usually called "head voice". However, they are not so separate from each other or indeed the chest voice and most countertenors use both. There is a way of combining these. Mr. Oberlin uses mostly head voice, but it is more mixed with other registers, so you don't hear much break there. However, this head voice is a little different from the head voice that we usually talk about with other male voice types.

[MrTristan1983]

Thank you for these videos. I've been watching them a lot lately. I used to think I don't like countertenors before I heard Mr. Oberlin. Of course I respect the fine artistry of other countertenors. This is just about my personal taste. I'm writing a thesis about voice types and that's why I've been looking for information about the countertenor voice which I'm not so familiar with.