The falsetto voice of the adult male, trained and developed to sing alto parts, especially in sacred polyphony. The revival of interest in the countertenor as a solo voice has been largely due to the artistry of Alfred Deller.
A countertenor is an adult male whose voice is comparable to the female vocal ranges, alto, mezzo and Soprano (also known as a Sopranist). This voice is achieved either by the singer's highly developed falsetto that unlike other male singers' falsetto, can be trained to sing professionally, or alternatively by possessing a natural head voice. The countertenor voice went through a massive resurgence in popularity in the second half of the 20th century, partly caused by pioneers such as Alfred Deller and by the increased popularity of Baroque opera and also due to a need of male singers to replace the castrati roles in opera.
Countertenors remained in the niche of sacred vocal music, in part because women were banned from singing in church services. As a result, the countertenor voice was found only in cathedral choirs and the occasional early music ensemble for a few centuries.
The most visible icon of the countertenor revival was Alfred Deller, an English singer and champion of authentic early music performance. Deller initially called himself an "alto", but his collaborator Michael Tippett recommended the archaic term "countertenor" to describe his voice.
Today, countertenors are much in demand in many forms of classical music.
The Countertenor Voice
The majority of countertenors use falsetto to sing in an alto range. The falsetto register tends to sound weak and hooty in untrained male voices, but it can achieve much greater resonance with correct technique -- though it still sounds very different from the chest voice. Many countertenors switch into chest voice for low notes, with varying degrees of grace. Successful navigation of register shifts is one of the most difficult challenges a novice countertenor faces, but can be made easier with the help of a voice teacher.
A minority of countertenors possess light tenor speaking voices, and are able to mix their registers as they go higher without a clear shift into falsetto.
Some musicologists label the former sort of singer a "male alto" and reserve the term "true countertenor" for the latter, but this terminology is controversial, as many people use the two terms synonymously. The distinction between these voice types is not entirely clear: a study by Ardran and Wulstan in 1967 found little physiological difference between the means of production in countertenors with ostensibly different technique.
A few countertenors have a range comparable to a female soprano.
Although the results vary significantly between singers, a countertenor generally sounds quite different from a woman singing in the same range. The countertenor voice is sometimes described as "androgynous" or "otherworldly". In general, novice countertenors sound more "piercing" and "sharp" than more experienced countertenors, lacking the vocal control that comes with proper training.
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