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Contralto Corner |
About the Contralto voice
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The Contralto is the lowest female voice category, and can be split into two vocal fach: Lyric Contralto and Dramatic Contralto. Effectively, the Lyric Contrato has the lighter voice, while the Dramatic has the heavier voice. Both have possibilities for coloratura, and most cultivate this. It is a separate vocal category from the Mezzo-Soprano, with its own unique register changes and timbre. Usually, the Contralto should be able to sing, when given an average level of training, the two octaves from F3 to F5. Most Contraltos do not need to sing lower than this, as the prevalent custom is to extend the voice upward, allowing the very lowest notes to atrophy. See the Telegraph article "Where have all the Contralto's gone?" for more about this trend. Many Contraltos could probably easily hit E3 and D3 if given proper training in this area of the voice.
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In his excellent article, "Training the Contralto Voice: Developing Diagnostic Tools for Understanding a Rare Voice Type", David L. Jones lists the major characteristics of the Contralto voice:
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Negatively, they may have:
Jones also lists the ranges of the various registers for the Contralto voice:
Also, just as the Bass can extend far beyond the D2 mark, like the famous Russian Basses, so a Contralto can sing comfortably below D3. Polish Contralto Ewa Podleś, for instance, has performed a B2 in concert. Many women sing in the Tenor range, as my own mother can, and some can even sing down to C2, like the Lady-Bass Margaret from Vivaldi's women. Unfortunately, Contraltos are not encouraged to explore this dark, rich lower register, and consequently have to make do singing in the higher reaches of the voice.
Many of the arias performed by the Contralto, such as those written by Bach and Handel, were actually written for another voice type: Bach's music, with its average range of B3 to E5, was almost certainly written for falsettists, and his Cantata for lower Alto, "Widerstehe doch der Sünde" was most likely composed for a High Tenor, or Haute-Contre. Many of the "Alto-ranged" Handel and Vivaldi arias were in fact written for the Castrati.
Thus many of the "Alto-ranged" arias were not actually written with the Contralto voice in mind. This is not to say that Handel, Vivaldi and other Baroque composers did not write for the Contralto voice, but that perhaps many of the "Alto" ranged arias did not take advantage of the full potential of the Contralto voice. Many Contraltos have taken roles normally associated with Mezzos, such as Carmen, Dalila and Amneris, and sing them to great effect, but here the Contralto is left singing "out of fach".
It is strange that this should be, given that in the world of popular music, much is made of the lower end of the Contralto spectrum. Singers such as Mariah Carey, Tionne Watkins, Toni Braxton, Beyonce and Alicia Keys all use the lowest area of the Contralto voice, C3 and below, in their music. The roles these women portray in their videos and through their music are varied, ranging from strong to tender, innocent to... well, not so innocent! They are not restricted to the rather limited "witches, bitches and britches" stereotype that operatic contraltos are relegated to.
Perhaps it is time for the new generation of composers to wake up to the potential of this great and beautiful voice.
- An overly bright upper register or disconnected head voice, and
- Tongue tension in the middle and chest registers, accompanied by a thicker function of the vocal folds.
Jones also lists the ranges of the various registers for the Contralto voice:
- Chest Register: D3 to F4
- Middle Register: F4 to Ab4
- Head Register: A4 to D5
- Upper Range: Eb5 to Bb5
Also, just as the Bass can extend far beyond the D2 mark, like the famous Russian Basses, so a Contralto can sing comfortably below D3. Polish Contralto Ewa Podleś, for instance, has performed a B2 in concert. Many women sing in the Tenor range, as my own mother can, and some can even sing down to C2, like the Lady-Bass Margaret from Vivaldi's women. Unfortunately, Contraltos are not encouraged to explore this dark, rich lower register, and consequently have to make do singing in the higher reaches of the voice.
Many of the arias performed by the Contralto, such as those written by Bach and Handel, were actually written for another voice type: Bach's music, with its average range of B3 to E5, was almost certainly written for falsettists, and his Cantata for lower Alto, "Widerstehe doch der Sünde" was most likely composed for a High Tenor, or Haute-Contre. Many of the "Alto-ranged" Handel and Vivaldi arias were in fact written for the Castrati.
Thus many of the "Alto-ranged" arias were not actually written with the Contralto voice in mind. This is not to say that Handel, Vivaldi and other Baroque composers did not write for the Contralto voice, but that perhaps many of the "Alto" ranged arias did not take advantage of the full potential of the Contralto voice. Many Contraltos have taken roles normally associated with Mezzos, such as Carmen, Dalila and Amneris, and sing them to great effect, but here the Contralto is left singing "out of fach".
It is strange that this should be, given that in the world of popular music, much is made of the lower end of the Contralto spectrum. Singers such as Mariah Carey, Tionne Watkins, Toni Braxton, Beyonce and Alicia Keys all use the lowest area of the Contralto voice, C3 and below, in their music. The roles these women portray in their videos and through their music are varied, ranging from strong to tender, innocent to... well, not so innocent! They are not restricted to the rather limited "witches, bitches and britches" stereotype that operatic contraltos are relegated to.
Perhaps it is time for the new generation of composers to wake up to the potential of this great and beautiful voice.
