MALE VOICES
sir,-- Concerning ‘"Westcliis remarks in The Listener of February 20, may I say that Alfred Deller is not a tenor, but a counter-tenor, who, like the Male-alto, produces his voice by the use of falsetto? In the all-male-.choir the alto part is always sung by men, for whose artificially-produced..yoices and narrow range the part was always written. In some of Purcell’s anthems in particular the counter-tenor part is sometimes present also. Male-altos are a rarity in this country, and countertenors apparently non-existent; so the man in the street (also aad peagretk, is unaware of them, As organist-choirmaster of an all-male church choir I can say that the malealto will compete tonally and in decibels with four contraltos, beside having a steady voice not subjetted’ to the emotional wobble of women’s voices. Nine trebles to one alto is a fair-ratio, as is also five contraltos to nine sopranos. Finally, I heartily agree with "Westcliff" that Alfred Deller is truly a rarity in tone and range, especially in the realm of Elizabethan Songs.
SEMI-FALSETTO
(Christchurch).
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19530313.2.12.8
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 713, 13 March 1953, Page 5
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175MALE VOICES New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 713, 13 March 1953, Page 5
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