I couldn’t find much on Google about this last I searched, but I was curious about any examples (recordings, accounts, etc) of contrabass singing (any genre) as well as countertenor singing. Thanks!
Just off the top of my head, Handel’s Israel in Egypt uses a countertenor. Another term for this voice is “male soprano” – see if that helps your Google search.
IIRC, in the bad old days, these parts were sung by castrati.
Thanks for the cite Earthling- I just searched “Countertenor” and found a wealth of information; I added it in without thinking. The question was actually meant for contrabass singing examples, and the inclusion of countertenor in my query was just an add-on. So, I guess I’m just asking about any possible contrabasses now.
From Herbert Kupferberg, The Book of Classical Music Lists (© 1985, now out of print), listed under opera vocal types, p.115:
There doesn’t seem to be a standard name for this lowest of voices, and some sources just call it heavy bass – and also use Sarastro as the example. And to further the confusion, the spelling is sometimes basso profundo.
A great countertenor solo is in the 2nd movement of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.