HEY!!!! David in Orfeo.
The Handelmaniac
Orfeos...a great artist..one of the most special singers we have..and
not a "typical countertenor..." but with more balls(four of them).
Glad I decided to get a ticket..I always found the opera a bore..but
this time it will be more to my liking..ch
Ortrud Jones
Podles instead of a damn falsettist?
-Ortrud Jones
tmori...@yahoo.com
Ortrud Jones schrieb:
> What the hell. How about having a real singer in the role like Ewa
> Podles instead of a damn falsettist?
>
definitely. I have the broadcast of a Daniels/Kozena concert. The duets
are cruel for poor David, who tries in vain to hold the distance .....
I assisted a concert performance of Handel's Rinaldo in the Tonhalle in
Zurich (not a very big venue, with good acoustics). A duet between
Daniels and Bartoli (!!) became a solo for Bartoli with a guy moving
silently his mouth close to her.
Also for the subsequent Decca recording, poor David was exhausted, so
that he sung his part in re-recording afterwards.
Surely he'll be miked .....
th., who loves countertenors .... in Purcell songs .....
wkas...@comcast.net
Ortrud Jones wrote:
> What the hell. How about having a real singer in the role like Ewa
> Podles instead of a damn falsettist?
I couldn't agree more. The Met has missed yet another opportunity to
showcase Podles.
Daniels is a good countertenor - but he's still a countertenor, which
means monochromatic singing of limited dynamic and emotional range.
Bill
wkas...@comcast.net
The Handelmaniac wrote:
> So happy to hear that the great David Daniels will be doing the Met
> Orfeos...a great artist..one of the most special singers we have..and
> not a "typical countertenor..."
What is a "typical countertenor", and why isn't Daniels among them? I
think that he is technically a bit more skilled than some, but I find
him very "typical" in terms of vocal color, size, and range. I suppose
that he may sound a bit more like a female mezzo than some, but I'd
much rather have the real thing.
> but with more balls(four of them).
I disagree. As a friend of mine said "Daniels may have the beard, but
Podles has the balls".
> Glad I decided to get a ticket..I always found the opera a bore..but
> this time it will be more to my liking..ch
How do you know that until you've heard it?
Bill
Ortrud Jones
-Ortrud Jones
wkasi...@comcast.net wrote:
> As a friend of mine said "Daniels may have the beard, but
> Podles has the balls".
.
Richard Loeb
news:1153252135.2...@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
Well now, that conjures up a picture that should give me nightmares for
weeks!!!
Richard
David Melnick
As you probably know, Richard, Podles can be very feminine
on stage!
dav
alanwa...@aol.com
Mr Daniels is a great singer but I have to wonder how a counter tenor
is going to get on in a house the size of the MET whatever the music
is.
That's the prob with vocal HIP I would think - they didn't have houses
that size in those days.
And originally, by the way, it was a pretty small orchestra or so a
friend who studies this period tells me.
Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins
Donald Grove
the size of the MET whatever the music is."
I heard him in Giulio Cesare at the Met back in 2000. I am not sure
what the name of the role was, Tolomeo, I think. No it is not a large
voice, but you could hear him clearly, as the orchestra was quite
light. I thought he sang with a lot of feeling. I will admit that I
think his voice shows a lot more color and dynamic range in studio
recordings, though.
I don't know what Charlie means by "typical", but I remember when
counter-tenor meant not only a pallid voice, but to my mind a very
insipid, mannered style, that favored straight-tone, no dynamics and
very exaggerated diction. Nowadays there are lots of countertenors
around who go ahead and sing with some gusto. David Daniels among
them. I love his album of songs "Serenade". Fascinating and
beautifully sung. But he is not at his best in a house the size of
the Met.
On 18 Jul 2006 13:52:48 -0700, "alanwa...@aol.com"
Richard Loeb
news:1153255968.3...@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
the house, but it was one of the few times this season I heard the house
transfixed in silence as he sang in Rodelinda - Richard
The Handelmaniac
Ortrud Jones wrote:
> What the hell. How about having a real singer in the role like Ewa
> Podles instead of a damn falsettist?
>
> -Ortrud Jones
>
> The
insulting term..especially for someone famous the opera world
over......Countertenors are being used now more..as they were (without
balls) in the earlier century.
and speaking of balls.......remember our wedding day....and night..
The Handelmaniac
> > > this time it will be more to my liking..ch
>
> Mr Daniels is a great singer but I have to wonder how a counter tenor
> is going to get on in a house the size of the MET whatever the music
> is.
>
> David's voice carries very well.I have sen him in Rinaldo and Alcina,etc..remember...the orchestra for Gluck is not Wagnerian.
I am NUTS for Podles..even in pants...a great lady..I asked her once
about the Met and she said, "They don't want me."PITY..She is a force
of nature...and i wish we had her.
alanwa...@aol.com
No doubt (another fine artist) but Orfeo is not The King and has close
on three octaves to cover.
My experience is that countertenors are far better at the top than at
the bottom and this (I think) is where the girls such as Ms Podles
score. The lower they go the less power they have is my experience of
countertenors.
There should be six first violins and four seconds but I bet there
won't be! That is, however, what it was written for if you are going
to do HIP.
Gut strings as well.
wkas...@comcast.net
The Handelmaniac wrote:
> A "falsettist' is an insulting term..
Why? It's an accurate term that describes the vast majority of
countertenors, Daniels included. They sing in falsetto - that makes
them falsettists.
Bill
Ortrud Jones
-Ortrud Jones
Richard Loeb
news:1153266349.6...@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
Well it may be more complex than that - I spoke to Drew Minter on many
occasions and he did not consider himself a falsettist - here is another
explanation I came across- whether one agrees or not, I think the issue is a
complex one Richard
"A Countertenor is an adult male singer who uses the falsetto part of his
voice more than usual to sing a higher range than the typical adult male
voice. A countertenor trains himself to use the whole of the vocal cords as
well to produce a rich sound, as distinct from the falsettist who makes a
much slighter sound by only using the edges of the cords (or falsetto). What
singers term 'onset of tone' (in layman's terms, the beginning of the sound)
is perhaps the key to the different usages. A healthy voice uses both the
fine edges of the cords and the 'body' of the cords. The difference in onset
between, say, a baritone and a countertenor is how much of the edges of the
cords are being used at the 'onset' or start. A countertenor will use a huge
amount of falsetto in the onset of tone - then expanding into the rest of
the cord - while a baritone will use the main part of the cord in onset,
whilst having some falsetto present.
Good vocal teaching has meant that a greater variety of countertenor voices
have begun to emerge in recent years. The range of a countertenor is often
similar to that of the (more usually female or boy) alto, although some
countertenors now attain a mezzo-soprano or even a soprano range. The
countertenor voice has grown over the years, in variety of tone within the
individual and within the voice type as a whole, to the point where some
male singers are not easy to distinguish from female singers.
The term countertenor has its roots in sacred medieval music. The church
musician chose to label the various voice parts to help the organisation of
music. The tenere was the "held" note or the main vocal line - giving rise
to the modern voice label tenor. The contratenore were voices that moved
against (above or below) the tenere. The voices were labelled "contratenor
altis" (high voice - but giving us alto which is now also a low female
voice) and "contratenor bassus" (low voice - giving us bass). Over the later
medieval, renaissance and baroque periods the labels evolved so that
"contratenor altis" became "countertenor" in England, "hautcontre" in France
and "altist" in Italy. (The further label "soprano" coming from the Italian
"sopra" meaning "above").
Countertenors are often used today in baroque operas with parts originally
written for castrati - a voice type which, for all intents and purposes, no
longer exists. The voice is also heard in contemporary classical music where
composers often employ it for its haunting quality. Church and cathedral
choirs employ them as well - although women's alto voices are being heard as
much as men's in British Anglican churches in the 21st century. (Cathedral
choir schools are now admitting young female trebles as well as young male
trebles onto their training programmes.)
The principal ambassador for the countertenor voice type in the 20th century
was Alfred Deller. Originally a church singer, he was at the forefront of
the early music movement. In 1948 he founded the Deller Consort, a vocal
ensemble specialising in renaissance and baroque music. Deller may be best
described as a falsettist, as evidenced by listening to his recordings.
Benjamin Britten wrote the role of Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream,
premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1960, for Alfred Deller's voice. In
so doing Benjamin Britten allowed the countertenor out of the cloistered
world of the church and cathedral, onto the stage and into the 20th - and
now 21st century. The role of Oberon was reprised at The Royal Opera House
by the American countertenor Russell Oberlin in 1961, and has since been
associated very strongly with James Bowman.
James Bowman's vocal quality was closer to the modern day countertenor than
Alfred Deller's falsetto. Bowman had an extraordinarily large and focused
voice which leant itself immediately to the larger opera houses and the
concert platform in a way a falsettist never could, simply because of the
size of voice. Since then, more and more countertenors have made careers in
opera houses, on concert platforms and in recording studios - as well as
continuing the church singing tradition.
The term countertenor is used much less frequently to mean a normal male
tenor who uses some falsetto at the very top of his range. Another term for
this is hautcontre.
In the Barbershop Harmony musical style, the name tenor is used to denote
the highest part, corresponding to a countertenor. The four parts, in order,
are bass, baritone, lead, tenor. The tenor generally harmonizes above the
lead, who sings the melody. The barbershop tenor range is, as notated,
Bb-below-middle C to D-above-high-C (and sung an octave lower).
It is thought that sopranistas also use falsetto, sometimes called
'unsupported falsetto', (there is much speculation over this unusual voice
type). The sopranista can achieve a much higher range than the Countertenor.
It should be noted that although many male rock and pop artists frequently
go into falsetto and use much the same range as classical countertenors, the
term is never used for them: it is essentially a name used only in classical
music. (Rock and pop are generally more relaxed about categorizing types of
singer anyway, and the high range of the countertenor seems likely to cause
some mild confusion and embarrassment if examined too closely in the context
of rock machismo.)
Regrettably, the part of the countertenor has been one long accused of being
a somehow "false" or "unwholesome" voice because it utilizes falsetto
technique. Because Castrati are extinct and the percentage of natural
countertenors is very, very low, nearly the only way for a male to sing
countertenor is to utilize their developed falsetto.
alanwa...@aol.com
Yes, all that but Orfeo is written for six first violins and four
seconds.
What will be the turnup in the MET orchestra?
No doubt all of you will report back if really into HIP.
REG
Daniels doing this role in Chicago from last (??) year, and he didn't make
much impact, truth to tell. The role is kind of central for a countertenor,
and with all due respect, he seems to have something of a hole opening up in
the middle of the voice - at least as far as I have heard him, there's not
much carrying power there. I think that the opera is going to be difficult
enough at the MET, for the reasons that Alan and some others adduce - not
only is it really "meant" to be scored for a very small group, but the
nature of the story is really one which doesn't carry well in such a barn.
And it's not just about the acoustics, but the size of the stage, the
distance, in most cases, from the seats to the stage, and the aural
expectation of hearing a 'big' sound from singers and orchestra alike.
Handel can be 'blown up' with less harm, I think, that Gluck.
Podles is in the autumn of her career, I think, and this would have been a
very good role for her to use to return to the MET. For Daniels, it will be
a career achievement, I am sure, but it won't really do for the house what
bringing in again a singer like Podles would have done.
Ah, well....
"The Handelmaniac" <vissida...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1153244890....@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
REG
I've heard
Live - Derek Lee Ragin
On cd - Michael Chance (now towards the end of his career, I thinik)
On internet - Larry Razzazzo (?sp), who'll be coming to the MET next year, I
think.
To the extent that countertenors (and I don't think they are falsettists -
although I think it is more of a Brit term) can color their voices, it's not
going to get done at the MET, that's for sure. The interest in the
countertenor voice, in my view, really depends on a sense of intimacy to
work.
<wkas...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1153251620.3...@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
david...@aol.com
Richard Loeb quoted the following:
> "A Countertenor is an adult male singer who uses the falsetto part of his
> voice more than usual to sing a higher range than the typical adult male
> voice. A countertenor trains himself to use the whole of the vocal cords as
> well to produce a rich sound, as distinct from the falsettist who makes a
> much slighter sound by only using the edges of the cords (or falsetto).
This is a distinction without a difference. To paraphrase, once the
falsettist trains himself to be a better falsettist, he becomes a
countertenor.
-david gable
REG
are disagreeing with Richard's forumlation, or saying that the formulation
is correct but that it doesn't make a difference to your own ears.
I seems to me that there are lots of different explanations of the
differences of the 'countertenor' sound, and I don't see that there's any
consensus about countertenor/falsettist voice types to rely on.
<david...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1153271385.2...@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Richard Loeb
No- the article doesn't say the countertenor is better; it says the
countertenor tranis differently to produce a different tone. Richard
david...@aol.com
> The tenere was the "held" note or the main vocal line - giving rise
> to the modern voice label tenor.
The Latin word tenor was already used in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance. Tenere is the infinitive form, "to hold."
> The contratenore were voices that moved
> against (above or below) the tenere. The voices were labelled "contratenor
> altis" (high voice - but giving us alto which is now also a low female
> voice) and "contratenor bassus" (low voice - giving us bass). Over the later
> medieval, renaissance and baroque periods the labels evolved so that
> "contratenor altis" became "countertenor" in England, "hautcontre" in France
> and "altist" in Italy. (The further label "soprano" coming from the Italian
> "sopra" meaning "above").
Some literal translations might help. The tenor was the sustained line
in which the cantus firmus (normally derived from chant but eventually
derived from other sources as well), the part on which the composer
based a new piece, was intoned in long held values. Other parts were
written against the tenor line or contra tenor. The part written
against the tenor that was higher than the tenor line was the contra
tenor altus or simply the altus (for high as in altitude). The (male)
singer singing this line sang contra tenor or altus.
The part written against the tenor in a register lower than the tenor
line was the contra tenor bassus or simply the bassus (for low as in
basement, abasement, etc.).
If there was a part above the altus, it was referred to as the superius
(over or above as in superior: your superior is "over" or "above"
you), which is also the root of the Italian word sopra as in soprano, a
term not in wide use before Italy in the 1600's. By the end of the
Renaissance, the four parts were normally referred to as the superius
(or discantus), altus, tenor, and bassus. These parts were all sung by
male singers, the superius normally by boys, the altus by male altos or
counter tenors, the tenor by tenors, the bassus by basses.
Haut contre is simply French for the high contra, a translation of
contra (tenor) altus. The term haut contre was also applied to the
male singers who sang high contra parts or counter tenors.
-david gable
david...@aol.com
REG wrote:
> On what basis is it a distinction without a difference? I am not sure if you
> are disagreeing with Richard's forumlation, or saying that the formulation
> is correct but that it doesn't make a difference to your own ears.
I'm saying that a falsettist and a counter tenor do NOT have a
different physiology or produce their high sounds differently. In
(Drew Minter's?) own explanation as quoted by Richard Loeb, the only
distinction between a falsettist and a counter tenor is the singer's
degree of training, and his distinction is not a universally drawn
distinction but the special pleading of a counter tenor who doesn't
like the label falsettist.
The whole account of the physiology involved in singing in Richard's
post hinges on broadly and ill defined terms in any case. I wouldn't
be surprised if Drew Minter knew more about the physiology of singing
falsetto than his quoted description gives evidence of, but that's
another matter. There are people who know an extraordinary amount
about the physiology of singing: I'm talking about what we commonly
refer to as "scientific" knowledge. I'm not one of them. Drew Minter
may or may not be.
-david gable
david...@aol.com
Richard Loeb wrote:
> No- the article doesn't say the countertenor is better; it says the
> countertenor tranis differently to produce a different tone.
That's one reading of the passage. Here's mine: the counter tenor
trains with the result that he produces a "different," that is, better
tone than the mere falsettist. Except that the counter tenor is
"different" from and "better" than the falsettist only if the counter
tenor hates the term falsettist and insists on being called a counter
tenor in his professional life. In short, the distinction between
falsettist and counter tenor is, to use the common phrase for such
situations, "a distinction without a difference."
-david gable
Richard Loeb
<david...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1153272545....@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
Whoa there - where did you get the impression that the article I quoted was
by Drew Minter. If you read correctly you will see that I was merely
responding to Bills assertion that a countertenor is a falsettist by showing
him an article that raises more complex issues. I said that I had spoken to
Drew often and that the article was ANOTHER explanation. That is all.
Frankly I know Drew not only as a superb singer but a Baroque scholar of
immense erudition who I'm sure knows more about this subject than anyone on
this board and he certainly does not consider himself a falsettist. If you
guys want to thrash this out further - go ahead. I was merely saying that
Bills assertion may not be that simple. Richard
>
Richard Loeb
news:1153272964.0...@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
If you gleaned that from those two sentences, bully for you. I read them
and didn't infer any of that countertenor "hatred" of the word falsettist.
The terms were merely differentiated and I didn't get the idea that one was
better than the other - the falsettist tone as described may be more
preferable in some instances - Richard
david...@aol.com
Richard Loeb wrote:
> Whoa there - where did you get the impression that the article I quoted was
> by Drew Minter.
Perhaps from reading your post too hastily. You will note that I put
my first attribution to Drew Minter in parentheses followed by a
question mark: "(Drew Minter's?)"
> Drew not only as a superb singer but a Baroque scholar of
> immense erudition who I'm sure knows more about this subject than anyone on
> this board
> and he certainly does not consider himself a falsettist.
I know perfectly well who Drew Minter is: I heard him sing in Chicago
many times and probably attended parties that he attended at the home
of the late Howard Brown, a Renaissance music scholar who taught at The
University of Chicago, although I've never consciously spoken to him.
Frankly, when I read your post, the garbled explanations surprised me,
making me suspect they might not be from Drew Minter, hence the "(Drew
Minter?)."
I know that Drew Minter, like an increasing number of counter tenors,
now rejects the term falsettist. "Falsettist" has an unfortunate ring
to it because of its root. For years, falsettist and counter tenor
were used interchangeably. To my knowledge, there is no actual
distinction in means of vocal production, pace Mr. Minter.
-david gable
wkas...@comcast.net
REG wrote:
> Actually, I wish this was Podles as well. I heard a very well-recorded cd of
> Daniels doing this role in Chicago from last (??) year, and he didn't make
> much impact, truth to tell. The role is kind of central for a countertenor,
> and with all due respect, he seems to have something of a hole opening up in
> the middle of the voice - at least as far as I have heard him, there's not
> much carrying power there.
I think that a lot of countertenors have that problem, because they
can't mix too much chest voice into the tone.
> I think that the opera is going to be difficult
> enough at the MET, for the reasons that Alan and some others adduce - not
> only is it really "meant" to be scored for a very small group, but the
> nature of the story is really one which doesn't carry well in such a barn.
> And it's not just about the acoustics, but the size of the stage, the
> distance, in most cases, from the seats to the stage, and the aural
> expectation of hearing a 'big' sound from singers and orchestra alike.
> Handel can be 'blown up' with less harm, I think, that Gluck.
To a degree. But I've heard Daniels three times in Handel, and the
bigger the space, the less impression he made. He was terrific in the
BLO Xerxes - the Emerson, where BLO performed back then, held fewer
than 1000. When the same production went to NYCO, he was less
impressive (so were a lot of the singers, actually). I also heard him
at the Met in Giulio Cesare a couple of years later, and he did seem
rather lost tonally, particularly in comparison to a real voice like
Blythe's. Daniel's voice was the size of Sylvia McNair's - but at
least he didn't have her nails-on-the-blackboard quality.
Bill
david...@aol.com
Richard Loeb didn't observe "any countertenor 'hatred' of the word
falsettist in the lines I quoted."
Here's a quotation from your original post:
"Regrettably, the part of the countertenor has been one long accused of
being a somehow 'false' or 'unwholesome' voice because it utilizes
falsetto technique."
This statement explains why a counter tenor might dislike the term
"falsettist" even as it claims that a countertenor "utilizes falsetto
technique."
-david gable
Richard Loeb
news:1153274455....@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
Oh for Petes sake, David that was not the passage you cited - you were
saying that you inferred all of that underlying meaning from the two
sentences you quoted, not the whole article. geez Richard
>
and...@comcast.net
You could look it up . . . . . . . .
St. André ~ countertenorcounter
david...@aol.com
Richard Loeb wrote:
> Oh for Petes sake, David that was not the passage you cited -
I know that. How is that relevant?
> you were
> saying that you inferred all of that underlying meaning from the two
> sentences you quoted, not the whole article. geez
Actually, I didn't say what lead me to make my inference, but I did
read the lines you'd like to confine me to in the light of my knowledge
of the tendency of such counter tenors as Drew Minter to reject the
term "falsettist."
-david gable
REG
have all 'head resonance', while others seem to have a more mixed sound,
particularly in the lower part of the voice. I don't know if the distinction
is a real distinction between 'soprano' and 'alto' countertenors - we know
that there was such a distinction in castrati, but I don't know historically
if the same distinction ever existed in the countertenor voice.
I am not just talking about 'range' of voice, but the same kinds of issues
having to do with weighting and coloration and ease of execution (and, of
course, how 'low' the voice can go without disappearing into oblivion, or
resorting to a clear chest resonance). In my own mind, a falsettist really
has little of the chest resonance sound - I am not here saying whether any
countertenors really 'have' chest resonance, but if they sound as if they
have it - and that kind of singer is typified by some of the French
countertenors (eg Lesne, and others - one of the guys who died of AIDS a
while back), while other countertenors, more in the English school, if you
will, seem to have somewhat more solid voices.
All these may be meaningless distinctions physiologically, but they may not,
and that's what I am asking about.
Do you hear the same distinction that I do?
<david...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1153272545....@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
David Melnick
How could anyone be so misled and unaware of the correct
definition of countertenorinoid and also incapable of
locating the positions of the last 11,483 pin-dwelling
angels....
Everybody knows the right number is 578,492. It is a lottery
winning number, too, and the proper pitch of a bass drum,
haut-contre variety, as manufactured in Melnitz (not far
from Prague, and quite close to Fragrant Flatu, birthplace
of Dr. Tuchus Flatus, the famed surgeon, sadly disappeared).
And you with access to that OED, no less. Call yourself a
scholar ... hah!
dav
REG
"David Melnick" <dmel...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:pxhvg.2433$Rg2...@fe07.news.easynews.com...
David Melnick
> Please, put in a little something for Pessary.
Perissa was a lady: Pessary, never, Sir Topas.
And on a Friday fell al that meschaunce!
Farewell, cruel countertenors,
dav
and...@comcast.net
"REG" <Rich...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:yChvg.25150$7e....@news-wrt-01.rdc-nyc.rr.com...
> Please, put in a little something for Pessary.
>
Trop déclassée !
The St. Andrés & the Tuchases . . . . . . . .
What ever happened to the English wing?
One shall have to send a note.
David Melnick
and...@comcast.net
"David Melnick" <dmel...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:pxhvg.2433$Rg2...@fe07.news.easynews.com...
Fascinating that you uncovered ( as it were ) the connection between &
among the Flatu and Tympani. Many have searched, few, if any, suceeded.
You have won for your efforts a CD of The Concerto for Tympani and Ego.
( distributed by Ed )
And I am not nearly bli . . . . .oh, clearly . . .
St. André ~ Bas-Contre
Mark
This is a great post David. Thanks. Not news for me, but I'm sure
others learned something tonight.
David Melnick
> I call myself St. André.
> Fascinating that you uncovered ( as it were ) the connection between &
> among the Flatu and Tympani. Many have searched, few, if any, suceeded.
> You have won for your efforts a CD of The Concerto for Tympani and Ego.
> ( distributed by Ed )
> And I am not nearly bli . . . . .oh, clearly . . .
>
> St. André ~ Bas-Contre
Beware. An uncovered connection can be dangerous. And
uncovered timpani are ... well ... naked.
Really really adieu,
G-dman D.
david...@aol.com
David Melnick wrote:
>Dr. Tuchus Flatus, the famed surgeon, sadly disappeared).
It's been so long since we heard from Tuchus Flatus. Such a
captivating cognomen.
-david gable
REG
else.
"David Melnick" <dmel...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:laivg.30127$_67....@fe10.news.easynews.com...
tmori...@yahoo.com
REG wrote:
> I guess that what I hear is some countertenors, speaking very generically,
> have all 'head resonance', while others seem to have a more mixed sound,
> particularly in the lower part of the voice. I don't know if the distinction
> is a real distinction between 'soprano' and 'alto' countertenors - we know
> that there was such a distinction in castrati, but I don't know historically
> if the same distinction ever existed in the countertenor voice.
exceptions confirm the rule, but AFAIK countertenors can't venture into
soprano fields (which excludes them for many castrato parts....)
Most countertenors are natural barytones (Scholl, Daniels) singing in
falsetto (I see no offense in the term), but some of them (Jacobs as he
still sang) are natural tenors who use their 'standard voice' in the
bottom of their range. Coming to this I think this is the distinction
Geoffrey hears.
I've enjoyed Drew Minter's art as a singer and as a producer several
times in Göttingen and I treasure some of his CD's. If he takes
offense from being called a falsettist I'll respect his feelings but
generally the word is just used with a technical meaning.
th.
PS Gérard Lesne is still alive ; "the guy who died of AIDS several
years ago" has a name: Henri Ledroit. He left us some wonderful
recordings.
strauss...@gmail.com
Ortrud Jones wrote:
> What the hell. How about having a real singer in the role like Ewa
> Podles instead of a damn falsettist?
Am I the only person here actually more interested in the production
(Mark Morris) and what it can do for Orfeo than in the specific
singers?
And while I really really would love to hear and see Podles in this
role, I don't see her, from what I know, being a terribly good fit for
his style of production.
-lms (currently: Gluck monster)
Richard Loeb
daughter news:1153277226....@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
the law of diminshing returns - its just too exhausting for me and as my God
daughter so often says --- whatever!!!! Richard
Mark
tmori...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> I've enjoyed Drew Minter's art as a singer and as a producer several
> times in Göttingen and I treasure some of his CD's. If he takes
> offense from being called a falsettist I'll respect his feelings but
> generally the word is just used with a technical meaning.
>
> th.
Thierry,
I saw a production several years ago of Giulio Cesare, and the fellow
who sang Tolomeo called himself a "sopranist". Go figure.
david...@aol.com
> I should have already learned that this discussion would get to demonstrate
> the law of diminshing returns - its just too exhausting for me and as my God
> daughter so often says --- whatever!!!! Richard
I was only responding to your post . . . with a mere couple of
sentences. I can't help it if you get so defensive so easily.
-david gable
capa0...@aol.com
David Melnick wrote:
> >
> What ho, I say! Peace in this prison!
>
===========
No Academic Feste-ival Overtures here, please.
Pat
David Melnick
That one was for you. :-)
Now this one: JOIN us in an attempt to drive planet Earth
into a new orbit, by letting millions of people jump for
World Jump Day on 20th July at 11:39:13 GMT.
Scientific research has proven that this change of planetary
positioning would very likely stop global warming, extend
daytime hours and create a more homogeneous climate
... or just not work at all.
visit WJD ....
Sincerely,
Giidmon Drivel
David Melnick
> JOIN us in an attempt to drive planet Earth
> into a new orbit, by letting millions of people jump for
> World Jump Day on 20th July at 11:39:13 GMT.
>
> Scientific research has proven that this change of planetary
> positioning would very likely stop global warming, extend
> daytime hours and create a more homogeneous climate
Not enough jumped. You all let me down. Isaac Luria would be
as heartsick as I am.
Sincerely,
g.d.
capa0...@aol.com
Dear g d,
A serious Kaballist like yourself should have realize that no good plan
ever works out on July 20. Just ask Count von Stauffenbergt.
Pat
David Melnick
>
> Dear g d,
>
> A serious Kaballist like yourself should have realize that no good plan
> ever works out on July 20. Just ask Count von Stauffenbergt.
>
> Pat
Yes, I should have known. But your spelling reveals you to
have delved much further into the secrets of the Da Melnitz
Code than is good for you. Deep study of the Gematria
according to the Code shows that the value of Stauffenbergt
is 578,492, whereas Stauffenberg alone is merely 567,009.
Proof positive of my earlier assertion, though I dared not
cite it because of the hidden nature of the knowledge
involved.
Beware lest naked timpani rise up from the Pit of 15 Watt
-kins Bulbs and open the gates of Hell, letting Prokofiev
triple-muder Verdi, Wagner and Strauss and audiences the
world over care only whether the drum beater gets through to
the end of his part and gets paid.
Mother Maddalena save us. And Gilda too.
g.d.
Donald Grove
pure heart, thinking all the right thoughts.
On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 16:47:07 GMT, David Melnick <dmel...@pacbell.net>
wrote:
La Donna Mobile
I sent {{{{{}}}}} HUGS to everyone else jumping
--
http://www.madmusingsof.me.uk/weblog/
http://www.geraldine-curtis.me.uk/photoblog/
David Melnick
Maybe next time....
and...@comcast.net
I hope I didn't spoil anything.
St. André ~ needs glasses
"David Melnick" <dmel...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:2Adwg.39403$Zr...@fe06.news.easynews.com...
David Melnick
an open aqueduct, exposed to all manner of defilement, or
swallow that which comes from the River Thames impregnated
with all the filth of London and Westminster. Human
excrement is the least offensive part....
goodman d.
La Donna Mobile
David Melnick
And bear their Trophies with them as they go:
Filth of all Hues and Odours seem to tell
What street they sail'd from, by their Sight and Smell.
They, as each Torrent drives, with rapid Force
From Smithfield or St Pulchre's shape their Course,
And in huge Confluent join at Snow-Hill Ridge,
Fall from the Conduit prone to Holborn-Bridge.
Sweepings from Butchers Stalls, Dung, Guts, and Blood,
Drown'd Puppies, stinking Sprats, all drench'd in Mud,
Dead Cats and Turnip-Tops come tumbling down the Flood.
g.d.
Donald Grove
* one good drunk assed belly larf