# Contrabass, countertenor singing

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contrabass-countertenor-singing/145123>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 27, 2002, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contrabass-countertenor-singing/145123 "2002-12-27T08:09:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contrabass-countertenor-singing/145123/1 "2002-12-27T08:09:09Z")

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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!

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**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contrabass-countertenor-singing/145123/2 "2002-12-27T08:35:08Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contrabass-countertenor-singing/145123/3 "2002-12-27T08:58:10Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contrabass-countertenor-singing/145123/4 "2002-12-27T10:10:59Z")

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From Herbert Kupferberg, _The Book of Classical Music Lists_ (© 1985, now out of print), listed under opera vocal types, p.115:

> [@](#):
>
> **_Basso profondo_.** The lowest of the low. At home alike in Sarastro’s arias in Mozart’s _The Magic Flute_ and Henry W. Petrie’s _Asleep in the Deep_.  
> **_Contra-basso_.** Another term for basso profondo; often used for Russian singers with especially strong low notes.

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](http://www.aria-database.com/help.html) as the example. And to further the confusion, the spelling is sometimes _basso prof **u** ndo_.

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**Author:** ![NightRabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@NightRabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NightRabbit)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contrabass-countertenor-singing/145123/5 "2002-12-27T11:18:21Z")

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A great countertenor solo is in the 2nd movement of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.