Baroque Vocal Music
... became groggy the gonads were compressed and rubbed until they were no longer palpable. Or, if testes were already present, they were snipped out with a knife. It was Dr. Melicow’s opinion that whereas complete castration could kill the sexual impulse, the type of operation practiced on these young ...
... became groggy the gonads were compressed and rubbed until they were no longer palpable. Or, if testes were already present, they were snipped out with a knife. It was Dr. Melicow’s opinion that whereas complete castration could kill the sexual impulse, the type of operation practiced on these young ...
Vocabulary Cheat Sheet
... Solo: A single performer or a passage that is to be performed by a single performer. Duet: A piece of music that is to be performed by TWO musicians. Trio: Piece of music performed by 3 solo voices. Quartet: A piece of music performed by four solo musicians. Choir: A group of singers who usually sin ...
... Solo: A single performer or a passage that is to be performed by a single performer. Duet: A piece of music that is to be performed by TWO musicians. Trio: Piece of music performed by 3 solo voices. Quartet: A piece of music performed by four solo musicians. Choir: A group of singers who usually sin ...
The Voice
... separate resonator and can be tuned to line up 3rd and 4th formants • This can produce the “singer’s formant”, with a peak around 2500-3000 Hz. • The singer’s formant is used especially by male singers and altos; the fundamental frequencies sung by sopranos make their overtones too high • Singers ma ...
... separate resonator and can be tuned to line up 3rd and 4th formants • This can produce the “singer’s formant”, with a peak around 2500-3000 Hz. • The singer’s formant is used especially by male singers and altos; the fundamental frequencies sung by sopranos make their overtones too high • Singers ma ...
Baroque Vocal Music
... Two or more people sing the same line. (also applies to instruments). One musical part ...
... Two or more people sing the same line. (also applies to instruments). One musical part ...
Choir Terms List
... attack of a sustained vocal tone pp, crescendo to ff, and return to pp the middle range female singing voice medium loud - mf medium soft - mp moderately much one melody line, no embellishments, and with no accompaniment to die away motion the musical idea around which the composition is developed a ...
... attack of a sustained vocal tone pp, crescendo to ff, and return to pp the middle range female singing voice medium loud - mf medium soft - mp moderately much one melody line, no embellishments, and with no accompaniment to die away motion the musical idea around which the composition is developed a ...
11.0
... Castrati were biggest stars in Italian opera • Boys with beautiful voices who were castrated and never went through puberty • Their voices remained in soprano/alto range • Years of intensive vocal training made them virtuoso singers • Castrato voice highly prized—more powerful & brilliant than a wom ...
... Castrati were biggest stars in Italian opera • Boys with beautiful voices who were castrated and never went through puberty • Their voices remained in soprano/alto range • Years of intensive vocal training made them virtuoso singers • Castrato voice highly prized—more powerful & brilliant than a wom ...
The Operatic Voice
... The Operatic Voice Operatic singing developed in Europe during the 17th century. The vocal demands are far greater on an opera singer than on any other singer. Opera singers rarely use microphones, and therefore must develop their voices to make a sound that will project and be heard above an orches ...
... The Operatic Voice Operatic singing developed in Europe during the 17th century. The vocal demands are far greater on an opera singer than on any other singer. Opera singers rarely use microphones, and therefore must develop their voices to make a sound that will project and be heard above an orches ...
CHAPTER 35
... royalty, heroes, and gods. A singers' opera, opera seria required highly paid virtuoso singers. In London, it was Handel's job to recruit such virtuosi (all Italian) from opera houses around Europe. ...
... royalty, heroes, and gods. A singers' opera, opera seria required highly paid virtuoso singers. In London, it was Handel's job to recruit such virtuosi (all Italian) from opera houses around Europe. ...
VOICE
... stylized stage direction. There is often a chorus – an ensemble of singers who make up the townspeople and other supplemental characters. Often dancing (e.g., ballet) is part of the spectacle, as well. ...
... stylized stage direction. There is often a chorus – an ensemble of singers who make up the townspeople and other supplemental characters. Often dancing (e.g., ballet) is part of the spectacle, as well. ...
Castrato
A castrato (Italian, plural: castrati) is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty (or in its early stages) prevents a boy's larynx from being transformed by the normal physiological events of puberty. As a result, the vocal range of prepubescence (shared by both sexes) is largely retained, and the voice develops into adulthood in a unique way. Prepubescent castration for this purpose diminished greatly in the late 18th century and was made illegal in Italy in 1870.As the castrato's body grew, his lack of testosterone meant that his epiphyses (bone-joints) did not harden in the normal manner. Thus the limbs of the castrati often grew unusually long, as did the bones of their ribs. This, combined with intensive training, gave them unrivalled lung-power and breath capacity. Operating through small, child-sized vocal cords, their voices were also extraordinarily flexible, and quite different from the equivalent adult female voice. Their vocal range was higher than that of the uncastrated adult male (see soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, sopranist, countertenor and contralto). Listening to the only surviving recordings of a castrato (see below), one can hear that the lower part of the voice sounds like a ""super-high"" tenor, with a more falsetto-like upper register above that.Castrati were rarely referred to as such: in the 18th century, the euphemism musico (pl musici) was much more generally used, although it usually carried derogatory implications; another synonym was evirato (literally meaning ""emasculated""). Eunuch is a more general term, since historically many eunuchs were castrated after puberty and thus the castration had no impact on their voices.