Editing Countertenor (section)

== History ==
=== Early centuries ===
In [[polyphony|polyphonic]] compositions of the 14th and early 15th centuries, the ''contratenor'' was a voice part added to the basic two-part contrapuntal texture of discant (''[[superius]]'') and [[tenor]] (from the [[Latin language|Latin]] {{lang|la|tenere}}, which means to hold, since this part "held" the music's melody, while the ''superius'' [[descant]]ed upon it at a higher pitch). Though having approximately the same range as the tenor, it was generally of a much less melodic nature than either of these other two parts. With the introduction in about 1450 of four-part writing by composers such as [[Johannes Ockeghem|Ockeghem]] and [[Jacob Obrecht|Obrecht]], the ''contratenor'' split into ''contratenor altus'' and ''contratenor bassus'', which were respectively above and below the tenor.<ref name="Giles1982" /> Later the term became obsolete: in Italy, ''contratenor altus'' became simply ''altus'', in France, ''[[haute-contre]]'', and in England, countertenor. Though originally these words were used to designate a vocal part, they are now used to describe singers of that part, whose vocal techniques may differ (see below).<ref name="Stark2003" />

In the Catholic Church during the Renaissance, St. Paul's admonition ''"mulieres in ecclesiis taceant"'' ("let the women keep silence in the churches")<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|14:34|ASV}}</ref> still prevailed, and women were banned from singing in church services. Countertenors, though rarely described as such, therefore found a prominent part in liturgical music, whether singing a line alone or with boy [[Boy soprano|treble]]s or [[alto]]s. (Spain had a long tradition of male falsettists singing soprano lines). Countertenors were hardly ever used for roles in early opera,<ref>During the first half of the seventeenth century, some falsettist altos, such as Lorenzino Sances and [[Mario Savioni]], occasionally appeared onstage, especially in Rome.</ref> however, the rise of which coincided with the arrival of a fashion for [[castrato|castrati]]. For example, the latter took several roles in the first performance of [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi]]'s ''[[L'Orfeo]]'' (1607). Castrati were already prominent by this date in Italian church choirs, replacing both falsettists and trebles; the last soprano falsettist singing in Rome, Juan [Johannes de] San[c]tos (a Spaniard), died in 1652.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sophia.smith.edu/~rsherr/frmst1.htm|title=SingerList|website=sophia.smith.edu|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326004513/http://sophia.smith.edu/~rsherr/frmst1.htm|archive-date=26 March 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In [[Italian opera]], by the late seventeenth century castrati predominated, while in France, the modal high tenor, called the ''haute-contre'',<ref>the nature of the ''haute-contre'' voice has been the subject of much debate, but it is now generally accepted that ''haute-contres'' sang in what voice scientists term "[[Modal voice|modal]]", perhaps using [[falsetto]] or ''[[falsettone]]'' for their highest notes (cf. Lionel Sawkins, "Haute-contre", in {{harvnb|Sadie|1997|loc=vol. II, pp.&nbsp;668–669}}, and {{harvnb|Cyr|1977}})</ref> was established as the voice of choice for leading male roles.

In England [[Henry Purcell|Purcell]] wrote significant music for a higher male voice that he called a "counter-tenor", for example, the roles of Secrecy and Summer in ''[[The Fairy-Queen]]'' (1692). "These lines have often challenged modern singers, who have been unsure whether they are high tenor parts or are meant for falsettists".<ref name="Potter">[[John Potter (musician)|Potter, J.]] (2009), ''Tenor, History of a voice'', Yale University Press, New Haven/London, p. 19 (included footnote 35). {{ISBN|978-0-300-11873-5}}</ref> Contemporary vocal treatises, however, make clear that Purcell's singers would have been trained to blend both methods of vocal production.{{sfn|Ravens|2014|pages=130–138}} In Purcell's choral music the situation is further complicated by the occasional appearance of more than one solo part designated "countertenor", but with a considerable difference in range and [[tessitura]]. Such is the case in ''[[Hail! Bright Cecilia|Hail, bright Cecilia]]'' (''The Ode on St Cecilia's Day 1692'') in which the solo, {{"'}}Tis Nature's Voice", has the range F<sub>3</sub> to B{{music|flat}}<sub>4</sub> (similar to those stage roles cited previously), whereas, in the duet, "Hark each tree", the countertenor soloist sings from E<sub>4</sub> to D<sub>5</sub> (in the trio "With that sublime celestial lay". Later in the same work, Purcell's own manuscript designates the same singer, Mr Howel, described as "a High Contra tenor" to perform in the range G<sub>3</sub> to C<sub>4</sub>; it is very likely that he took some of the lowest notes in a well-blended "chest voice"&nbsp;– see below).

=== 18th century ===
"The Purcell counter-tenor 'tenor' did not flourish in England much beyond the early years of the [eighteenth] century; within twenty years of Purcell's death [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]] had settled in London and ''[[opera seria]]'', which was underpinned entirely by Italian singing, soon became entrenched in British theatres".<ref name="Potter"/> In parallel, by Handel's time, castrati had come to dominate the English operatic stage as much as that of Italy (and indeed most of Europe outside France). They also took part in several of Handel's oratorios, though countertenors, too, occasionally featured as soloists in the latter, the parts written for them being closer in compass to the higher ones of Purcell, with a usual range of A<sub>3</sub> to E<sub>5</sub>.<ref name="Giles1982" /> They also sang the alto parts in Handel's choruses. It was as choral singers within the Anglican church tradition (as well as in the secular genre of the [[Glee (music)|glee]]) that countertenors survived as performers throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Otherwise they largely faded from public notice.<ref name="Stark2003" />

=== 20th century ===
The most visible person of the countertenor revival in the twentieth century was [[Alfred Deller]], an English singer and champion of authentic early music performance. Deller initially identified as an "alto", but his collaborator [[Michael Tippett]] recommended the archaic term "countertenor" to describe his voice.<ref name="Giles1982" /> In the 1950s and 60s, his group, the [[Deller Consort]], was important in increasing audiences' awareness (and appreciation) of Renaissance and Baroque music. Deller was the first modern countertenor to achieve fame and has had many prominent successors. [[Benjamin Britten]] wrote the leading role of Oberon in his setting of ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (1960) especially for Deller. The countertenor role of Apollo in Britten's ''[[Death in Venice (opera)|Death in Venice]]'' (1973) was created by [[James Bowman (countertenor)|James Bowman]], the best-known amongst the next generation of English countertenors. [[Russell Oberlin]] was Deller's American counterpart and another early music pioneer. Oberlin's success was entirely unprecedented in a country that did not have much experience of performance of works prior to [[Bach]], and it paved the way for the great success of countertenors following him.<ref name="Giles2005">{{harvnb|Giles|2005}}</ref> Oberlin, however, harked back to the earlier tradition of countertenors using only their modal voices.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YgrPBTRjMk|title=Russell Oberlin explica o que é um contratenor|website=YouTube|date=23 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316010040/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YgrPBTRjMk|archive-date=16 March 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Today, countertenors are much in demand in many forms of classical music. In opera, many roles originally written for castrati (castrated males) are now sung and recorded by countertenors, as are some [[Breeches role|trouser roles]] originally written for female singers. The former category is much more numerous and includes Orfeo in [[Christoph Willibald Gluck|Gluck]]'s ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]'' and many Handel roles, such as the name parts in ''[[Rinaldo (opera)|Rinaldo]]'', ''[[Giulio Cesare]]'', ''[[Serse]]'' and ''[[Orlando (opera)|Orlando]]'', and Bertarido in ''[[Rodelinda (opera)|Rodelinda]]''.<ref name="Stark2003" /> [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] also had castrati roles in his operas, including Aminta in ''[[Il re pastore]]'', Cecilio in ''[[Lucio Silla]]'', Ramiro in ''[[La finta giardiniera]]'', Idamante in ''[[Idomeneo]]'', and Sesto in ''[[La clemenza di Tito]]''.

Many modern composers other than Britten have written, and continue to write, countertenor parts, both in choral works and opera, as well as songs and song-cycles for the voice. Men's choral groups such as [[Chanticleer (ensemble)|Chanticleer]] and [[The King's Singers]] employ the voice to great effect in a variety of genres, including early music, gospel, and even folk songs. Other recent operatic parts written for the countertenor voice include Edgar in [[Aribert Reimann]]'s ''[[Lear (opera)|Lear]]'' (1978), the messenger in his ''[[Medea (Reimann)|Medea]]'' (2010), Prince Go-Go in [[György Ligeti]]'s ''[[Le Grand Macabre]]'' (1978), the title role in [[Philip Glass]]'s ''[[Akhnaten (opera)|Akhnaten]]'' (1983), Claire in [[John Lunn]]'s ''The Maids'' (1998), the Refugee in [[Jonathan Dove]]'s ''[[Flight (opera)|Flight]]'' (1998), Trinculo in [[Thomas Adès]]'s ''[[The Tempest (opera)|The Tempest]]'' (2004), the Boy in [[George Benjamin (composer)|George Benjamin]]'s ''[[Written on Skin]]'' (2012) and several others (see [[Countertenor#Roles in opera and oratorio|Roles in opera]] below).