What is a Countertenor? (Feat. Michael Skarke)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ค. 2024
- In today's video, I interview countertenor Michael Skarke (michaelskarke.com/) to learn about the history of castrati (rockstar singers who were castrated as a boy to preserve their voices) and to answer the question, "What is a countertenor?"
Watch Michael and Brandon's full performances:
1. • Theorbo and Counterten...
2. • A 17th century lullaby
Watch Brandon perform with Countertenor Reggie Mobley:
1. • The song that got me i...
2. • VOCAL ORNAMENTS like y...
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
0:31 What is a Countertenor?
1:58 How Michael discovered his voice
2:52 Pop singer countertenors
3:40 Rock singer countertenors
4:17 What is a Castrato?
6:59 The Last Castrato
8:29 Countertenors with Lute
9:17 Other rare voice types
9:41 YOU can be a countertenor!
10:03 Performance Example
11:21 Listening Recommendations
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its truly insane how cleanly this man transitions between chest and head voice. I sing bass in my school choir and my falsetto and mixed voice sounds ROUGH compared to my chest voice. Massive respect
x'D I feel that.
how old are you?
Brandon is getting bolder with the vampire imagery...
Right?? How long do you think they've known each other?
at least 279 years
have we ever seen him in the sun??? yeah i dont think so
@@ErickArchViz th-cam.com/video/alyDJysSzL4/w-d-xo.html
@@ErickArchViz fully intact, smiling even .
That voice is incredible. Doesn’t sound like a typical falsetto, it has so much power
Right
That is because it is a counter tenor.............smoothly moving (not strained falsetto)
I'm seriously enjoying how well edited and structured this video is! You guys are killing it!
Michael and I went to school together in undergrad. He’s got a great voice! And he’s pretty good at basketball too 🏀
Michael is supremely talented and I love the way his voice pairs with the theorbo
Absolutely beautifully presented, explained, sung, and played. Bravo to each of you!
There is a lengthy, strong tradition of countertenor/male alto singing in Britain because the cathedral and chapel choir traditions had choirs consisting only of boys and men. This is still prevalent. In fact, it's been less than two years since a female alto was added to the professional choir at St Paul's Cathedral in London-- and the choir was founded before 1127 AD (that's the earliest mention). Most (probably all) cathedrals and chapels (especially associated with universities such as Oxford and Cambridge) consist of men and boys; girls and women have only been added in the past couple of decades, and it remains controversial.
Some great British countertenors: Peter Pears (Benjamin Britten's partner), Robin Blaze, Michael Chance, James Bowman, Iestyn Davies, Patrick Craig, and more. Other greats (mostly not British): Andreas Scholl, Bejun Mehta, David Daniels, Philippe Jaroussky, Jakub Józef Orliński, Brian Asawa, Derek Lee Ragin, Reginald Mobley (he and Brandon have made stunning videos on the channel), Franco Fagioli, Anthony Roth Costanzo, René Jacobs, Kangmin Justin Kim, Paul Esswood, . . . and more. It's my favorite voice type.
I'm another big countertenor fan and grew up singing a lot of the English cathedral repertoire as a girl treble. I still sing mostly straight tone.
Will never forget sitting 3 meters from Andreas Scholl as he sang an informal recital a few years ago.
I really like the way you brought out the metal voice of the 80's. There were so many great voices (known as hair bands or AOR) from the 80's. Rob Halford, Tony Harnell (TNT), Miljenko Matijevic (steelheart) Sebastian Bach (Skidrow) just to name a few.
thanks for the links in the description!
Excellent! So informative and well presented.
Brilliant video! Thank you, I love countertenor voices and learnt a lot from you guys. Michael, please come again.
Fantastic! I learned so much, thanks!
Thanks for the fascinating look into counter culture!
Great to "see" Michael again!
What a wonderfully informative video
You should definitely keep doing this interview format! Great chapter, very educational, I had no idea there was anything above tenor.
this was charming and informative. BRAVO to all parties involved. Many thanks x
Listening to you guys play with thunder rolling in the distance and lightning illuminating the sky, it’s epic.
Thanks for doing this video.
Countertenor is rarely discussed.
They are each unique .
Thank you Brandon! Can't wait to win your guitar!
Keep the Early Music content coming, please! Good stuff!
Back in the day when I sang in cathedral choirs the male alto or countertenor was known as the funny voice department. Not anymore, I'm glad to say. I think we have Alfred Deller to thank for beginning that change of opinion. His voice had an easy quality that no other countertenor in his time could match. That brief excerpt from Thomas Campion's gorgeous Shall I Come Sweet Love To Thee is a beautiful example of how special his voice was. When Andreas Scholl came along I was astonished by the quality, tone and projection of his beautiful voice. There was obviously a big change in training methods and finally the countertenor voice had come into its own. In Deller's day the pool of countertenor soloists was small. You'd see singers like James Bowman and Paul Esswood appearing regularly on recordings of which I have quite a few. But now there is a wealth of absolutely glorious countertenors. All those mentioned in this video would move you to tears to listen to them. Aren't we lucky to have them?
Alfred Deller himself came out of the English cathedral tradition (Canterbury?). After his voice broke he retained his high register--or perhaps 'maintained' is the better word. In this he was entirely self-taught--necessarily, for there was no one else to learn from. He and the few others we've mentioned were all flying without instruments, if I can put it that way. The pedagogy that has given us today's marvellous singers was built upon the their work. But it's important to stress, their work went beyond mere vocal technique. They were rediscovering a culture, and things about language that had almost been forgotten. A friend of mine, the tenor Edmund Brownless, once told me he had learned more about singing from listening to Deller recite poetry during a masterclass, than in any voice lesson he'd ever had.
@James Louder We're definitely in agreement about them setting the foundations for those who came after. I have a book about Alfred Deller which I must dig out. I know he sang as a lay clerk in Canterbury Cathedral and his son Mark became a boy chorister there. And later, Mark became a fine countertenor too. I would love to have met Alfred Deller. I have loved his singing for as long as I can remember.
Spot on. Alfred Deller (& his resurrection of Purcell) was important for the reemergence of the counter tenor voice.
The portrait of Senesino reminds me strikingly of Michael Sheen as Aziraphale in Good Omens.
Mr. Skarke is always incredible, I’m glad that I had the opportunity to learn from him during my high school years with him as my voice teacher. Love you Skarke🫶
Great interview! Thanks!
I learned so much by watching this video. Thank you. Very interesting topic. I love Mitch Grassi. I was thrilled to hear his name mentioned. His voice is amazing.
Another great video thank you!
My first encounter with a Countertenor was with Luc Arbogast, busking with an Irish bouzouki, and something that mic and TH-cam video have trouble illustrating is how powerful in the actual space that type of voice is, as the "wow" reaction from Brandon show when Michael demonstrate his head voice :D !
David Daniels was my introduction to countertenor. I caught Gluck's _Orfeo ed Euridice_ at the Chicago Lyric Opera sometime around 2005 or 2006. The sound really is beautiful. And always surprising whenever you're at a performance and it gets to the countertenor's first lines.
Thank you for this video, beautiful.
Great time for this video! TH-cam just recently recommended (and I watched) Total Baroque's video of the opera Carlo il Calvo at Beyruth Baroque 2020, an amazing performance that has three countertenors in the cast, so this topic has been on my mind recently!
Awesome info and presentation.
I could listen to the two of you for hours.
Me too !
Great introduction and explanation of countertenors. Growing up in the 80' s I listened to a lot of very high tenor voices (Iron Maiden, Rush and Triumph to name a few.) I think another interesting facet of males singing high is not just for tenors. There are many Baritones that have falsetto that can go higher than even a tenor. A great example is Philip Bailey with Earth Wind and Fire. His "normal " vocal range is Baritone, but has a very extensive falsetto range.
Brandon's channel is getting more and more interesting, great content. I'll check out the mentionned singers (most of them unknown to me).
Good video. I’ve had a lifelong fascination with both.
Klaus Nomi was a famous countertenor. His rendition of The Cold Song was particularly good.
Beautiful and very interesting, thank you!
I never actually know anything about this which is why this is so enlightening and entertaining!
Beatiful, thank you!
A few years ago, we had second row seats to the New York Phil’s performance of Handel’s Messiah. Anthony Roth Costanzo was the countertenor. Brilliant performance and I don’t think Messiah or many of the pieces we appreciate today would be the same without the countertenor voicing.
Great presentation!
Wonderful voice and very good explanation. Many poor people hoped their children would become rich as castrato singers .. unfortunately many did not even survive the "surgery" for infections ando so on.
Beautiful voice and lute !!! 👏👏👏👏
Thank you for these very interesting insights! The extreme difference between speech voice and the countertenor voice is really fascinating. I didn't think that this is possible. Apart from the ancient cruel castration merhod that you mentioned.
And also the power and the tone control in these dizzying hights are amazing.
And you are right: Extraordinary voices that brake out of the usual range are those that stay in mind. I also love very deep voices.
Thanks for this great discussion of a lost art due to the ceasing of the "snip" and how it has been beautifully recreated by men learning how to enrich the falsetto range in their voice. I assume that the only difference is that less of the vocal cords are used by men to sing in falsetto than castrati who sang in full voice and could use their full cords and that therefore the sound isn't as big in volume as what castrati could produce. Thankfully, we now have amplification and Michael has learned to use the most of his. He has a beautiful voice and it's wonderful to hear him sing. Thank you both for sharing!
This was super interesting ! And man ! What a voice ! 😯😯
You two playing and singing together really is a treat.
Thank you!!! 🤘❤️🍻❤️🤘
Loving Brandon and Michael performances!
Please, if you’re looking for repertoire, I’d love to hear a performance of Bach’s “Wir Eilen Mit Schwachen Doch Emsigen Schritten”, sans cello and replace with “something that goes pluck”
Countertenor is my absolute favorite! Especially when listening to Baroque music. ❤️
Andreas* Scholl is also my all time favourite counter tenor… also the first one that I came across but noone has beaten his voice yet👀
This man has a beautiful voice
Thanks for video
Really interesting. Michael was a great guest. I learned something!
I recently saw Michael perform in Vivaldi's "Ercole su'l Termodonte" with Pacific Opera Project and he was so amazingly expressive. His performance really stood out to me and I instantly recognized him in this video! :D I didn't realize that countertenor singing is comparable to singing in falsetto. I'm realizing thow that I've grew up listening to this style of singing because it's used in Chinese opera, particularly Kunqu Opera.
An outstanding video, gentlemen! Michael's explanation of where the the countertenor voice came from is so lucid and complete. When you make the CD that I hope is in your future, you might well include a transcript of his remarks in the booklet.
I'm glad Michael discussed how the countertenor voice crops up again and again in pop music. When I was in the tenth grade (c. 1964) one of our teachers played us a record of Alfred Deller singing Elizabethan lute songs. The guys were all going, "Gah, that's so weird!"--the same guys who didn't bat an eyelash when Paul McCartney of the newly renowned Beatles went up into falsetto, as he often did.
The same teacher also played us the New York Pro Musica's recording of "The Play of Daniel". An epoch-making record in more ways than one, it featured the American counter-tenor Russell Oberlin in a number of roles. Interestingly, Oberlin's voice didn't provoke the reaction that Deller's had. But Oberlin was that rare bird, a natural counter-tenor with a robust chest-tone; whereas Deller was a falsettist, whose voice, though beautiful, was very light.
Again, thanks for this video. Now about that CD...
Compared to Philippe Jaroussky, Alfred Deller had a " big voice " though .
As a french person , Alfred was obviously the first countertenor i heard ( called haute- contre at the time ).
Andreas Scholl 's voice reminds me of Alfred 's very very much .
My favourite is Philippe. I have most of his CDS
What ? I read that Alfred Deller was ....english ???!! 😲😲
But his name sounds very french . I think he was of french origin anyway .
I 've learnt something new today on rhe net
@@virginielafrench3921 Yes, Alfred Deller came from Margate, a seaside town in Kent (SE England). The name goes back to the Middle Ages, derived ultimately from Old English 'dell' : a shallow valley, often wooded. The French equivalent would be 'vallon'. So a deller is simply an inhabitant of a dell, as one of the late Afred's forebears must have been. The name is fairly common in southeast England, and found in the US and former British dominions.
Adding Jochen Kowalski on the list. What a voice!
So NEW TO ME! Interesting!....and beautiful to hear!
To Brandon Acker : i don't know if it could ever be possible some day but my dream is a duet ( ot several why not , still better !) between you my favourite musician and Philippe Jaroussky my favourite countertenor singer 😊😊😊😍😍
Hey Brandon!
I studied with Michael at Baylor and he is truly a phenomenal voice! If you are ever interested to explore, Henry Lawes has some phenomenal restoration compositions for Basso Profundo and Lute. They are full of humor, and great part writing. I no longer sing professionally, I teach middle school Choir. But it may be worth finding a Basso for a collaboration video! One great American Basso is Curtis Streetman from WKU.
I wasn't educated in music and never understand italian opera, but I got touched by it the exact same way like Tom Hanks in philadelphia
I love Philippe Jaroursky!
Thank you.
According to my voice teacher, I'm a countertenor. It's being a journey of learning not only for me but also for her as I am the first countertenor in her career so far. I've started my lessons a few months ago and my vocal range at the moment is around an F2 up to B5. I still don't know how to use all the registers properly, but I hope one day I can sing half as beautifully as Michael can ❤️
Amazing. My favourite is John Holiday. I never heard about countertenors before JH. Amazing skill.
Early Music Sources has a more in depth video of counter tenors and constrati if anyone wants to learn more about the topic
Thank you Maestro Acker for the video (and flashbacks) :)
I'm a countertenor tenor my voice sits very high and I'm comfortable singing soprano or alto I can sing tenor and baritone too but my true range is in the soprano or alto my voice changes when I get in my middle voice and my middle voice and upper voice are the same voice it just amazed me how my voice age well because when I was younger I could sing soprano now in my 30s I still can now in my teen years through 21 my voice was lower after 21 my voice mature and I started getting back my high notes.
I always assumed that the quality of sound from a castrato would be very different from a modern countertenor. Since a castrato's voice never "dropped", they wouldn't be singing in their head voice as much in order to achieve the same range. I thought their voice might sound more like a female mezzo soprano.
But the castrato had a big chest more air than females . They were typically tall . We can't tell what the voice was like Moreschi's recording is poor quality and not very appealing. I liked the digital combination of Ewa Malas Godlewska and Derek Lee Ragin 's voices to produce a possible sound for The castrato very agile very powerful
The only countertenor I have really listened to was Anthony Roth Costanzo in Philip Glass Akhnaten. It is an amazing performance.
@brandonacker if it hasn't been mentioned already, one of the most famous countertenors in modern music/avant garde was Klaus Nomi, who only had a career from mid 70s till his death in 83
So interesting. Thanks to the both of you for this. Would have loved to have heard more of Michael singing and you playing. Too bad this couldn't have been 5 min longer. This was great however. 👏👏👏👏❤
Thanks! This is why we included the performance links in the description if you'd like to hear more :)
Thanks so much! Michael truly has such a beautiful voice ❤.
Oh yes ! I agree .
Beautiful voice and beautiful piece of music
Good video ,thanks !
Please , could you do one about the true story of Farinelli ,please ?
Thank you. I didn’t really know what a countertenor was. I tried singing “countersoprano”. I’m not trained, but can sing. Amazingly, I was able to sing that way. Never was able to sing that high. :) 🌷🌱
As a countertenor myself with a 5 octave range, I often like to tell people that I have 2 registers with 2 ranges. I view it as male register for the chest to very low falsetto, and female for falsetto and high head voice. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding my own voice. Specially when I go very very high as I feel it's not even a head voice but more of a chest voice in this "female register". It is actually easier to sing extremely high, than it is to sing in the blend of these registers. Very interesting nonetheless to get to learn about my voice type.
If you play the duet with Jarrouski and Stutzmann from Handel: Son nata a lagrimar you get the counter tenor singing above the contralto . Nice comparison contrast male and female
Great video, thanks! Early Music Sources also did a fascinating video on the topic recently - another channel definitely worth checking out for those that haven’t already.
Thanks! I love that channel too
Here’s a link, unless TH-cam blocks it: th-cam.com/video/iP2vw6JIdNQ/w-d-xo.html
In Finland we have only one countertenor(kontratenori in finnish) Pasi Hyökki.
We called him sopranista too.
This is a very rare voice type.
I am bass/baritone in our choir. We need low voices too. Every voice type is unique. I hate it when generally saying highest voice is best. No it is not.
Listen like baritone Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau.
Or our Finland bass voice Martti Talvela. Both are pass now.
Sensational duet.
I don't suppose you have any friends from the other end of the male range you could perform with?
Absolutely wonderful and educational video thanks
That thumbnail tho.. 🧛♂️
I am amused that the subtitles rendered "trek" with a capital T, "Trek".
I naturally fall into my falsetto voice a lot, too. Then again, I‘m not technically a very good singer-good enough for accompanying my hobbyist guitar playing, but that’s about it.
Thanky to you guys i found out im a countertenor
Wow! Wonderful :)
Beautiful and very interesting! Have you considered making an album together?
You have a wonderful voice
Brandon or Michael?
@@hannahjohnson4582 Brandon, of course. Didn't you hear his Mickey Mouse impression?
examples of natural male counter tenor(high tessitura and light timbre) are Geddy Lee(RUSH), Roger Hodgson(Supertramp), Jon Anderson(YES), Mickey Thomas(Jefferson Starship), Tony Lewis(The Outfields), Russell Hitchcock(Air Supply)
Would live to hear Schubert, "Nacht und Träume" With his voice
Love an amazing young male soprano named Bruno de Sá ❤
i remember reading about a jazz singer who had "undecended testicles" and sang really high. he was married, had a "normal" life (whatever that means).This was back in the 80's
Very interesting.
Does the falsetto change in reach or timbre as we age? Will Michael sing more in his chest voice as he ages, or once trained does the head voice remain pristine? If it changes, what differences are typical of that change? Are those changes acceptable within performance of the style of music he is currently singing?
Loved this video. As a fan of the countertenor voice, I was familiar with all the singers mentioned. I was especially glad to see John Holiday as I knew he was classically trained from his appearance as a "Voice" contestant. Michael indeed should record, I'd be in line (virtual line) to get the recording.
hey brandon, have you ever thought about making a video on how to deal with hand strain/injury while playing the guitar? i suffer from hand injury but would really love getting back into playing guitar in a safe way!
Hi, yes absolutely. I've been preparing that video for some time. I went through a hand injury myself and still haven't fully figured it out. I was hoping to have solved it before making a video but I think I'll make a video on what I've learned so far and perhaps do updates as I learn. So stay tuned :)
@@brandonacker That is so very kind of you! I hope you'll be able to figure it out quickly and get better soon! have a nice day
I am really into countertenor singing, but it makes me wonder why it is very few of the countertenors who dont sing operatic kind of music. It would be wonderful having more countertenors in pop music, RnB, n many other genres.
I’m surprised I’ve seen nothing about Michael Jackson so far he has a very high talking voice and can sing extreme pitches.
Hi Brandon, can you do some Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler tuning on the both the Renaissance and theorbo lute? I am very curious about the result
You guys should listen to Bruno De Sa
He was a natural alto/mezzo like Mitch Grassi, B and now his voice is a Lyric Soprano (I might be wrong about his voice classification)
I love deep villan, heron adviser, old men of a nation religious voices: bass baritone. My voice is normally In this voice scale. Are they any videos here with this kind of vocals?
I had fun once, I gave a performance of Mozarts duet Là ci darem la mano where I sung both voice parts baritone and soprano.