The history and technique of the counter-tenor : a study of the male high voice family / Peter Giles.
| Author/creator | Giles, Peter |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Aldershot, Hants, England : Scolar Press ; Brookfield, VT : Ashgate Publishing Company, ©1994. |
| Description | xxiv, 459 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Foreword / by James Bowman -- The history of the counter-tenor. The status quo ; The crucible ; Developments ; Halcyon days ; Bach and Germany ; Slow slip from fashion ; Life in limbo ; Interlude: Male high voices recorded and forgotten, c1904-1934 ; The revival -- The technique of the counter-tenor. The vocal mechanism ; More on registers and range ; The new music: Renaissance vocal theorists ; Feigned voice: Tosi and Garcia ; The falsetto family: the counter-tenor and the tenor ; Towards performance: pitches, ranges and styles -- Appendices. The Nicholas Morgan mystery ; Richard Elford ; John Saville of Lichfield ; Short biographies ; Counter-tenors in choirs in Scotland, Wales and Ireland ; An exchange of correspondence ; The male high voice as artistic, visionary and symbolic phenomenon ; English folk and traditional music and the male high voice ; Castrati ; A king's musician for lute and voice, John Abell (1652/3-1724) -- Glossary of terms pertaining to voice. |
| Abstract | This volume offers a uniquely comprehensive survey of the counter-tenor, his role in the history of western art music, its present state, and begins to ponder on its possible future condition. In two parts, the first covers the history of the voice from the early application of the 'falsetto' effect, through its heyday in the 17th and 18th centuries, its decline in the 19th century and early 20th century and eventual post-war revival. The second part describes the mechanism and techniques of the counter-tenor, including contemporary comment on the 'feigned voice' of the Renaissance, the relationship between different high male voices and the ranges and styles of the counter-tenor voice family. The author adopts something of an alternative approach to a controversial subject. Though championing and celebrating the counter-tenor voice range, he is by no means uncritical of some aspects of it as heard today. In this work, in some respects, standard musicology is complemented rather than complimented. The breadth of perception of this book make it invaluable reading for all those who are involved or interested in the counter-tenor voice, in historical singing techniques and in pre-baroque and baroque music generally. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and indexes. |
| LCCN | 93024937 |
| ISBN | 0859679314 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML1460 .G56 1994 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |