# Explain to me the need for countertenors

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-need-for-countertenors/331673>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 18, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-need-for-countertenors/331673 "2005-11-18T18:30:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-need-for-countertenors/331673/21 "2005-11-21T09:28:38Z")

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> [@csharpmajor](#):
>
> I want a PURPOSE. As in, why have countertenors survived into this day and age instead of going the way of the viol or the harpsichord or the Beach Boys. I see no reason you need _countertenors_ to perform baroque music unless there is some sort of oestrogen limit/penis quota on stage and they are taking the place of the forbidden women. Or something. Because “they are men” doesn’t seem to me to be a very good reason to use _them_ in castrato roles, since falsetto sounds different from normal singing, the castrati did not sing falsetto, women singers do not sing falsetto and so you could just as easily claim using women is more “authentic” than using countertenors.

They haven’t ‘survived into this day’ at all. They’re essentially a 20th-century creation, from a time when people were paring down classical & baroque performance styles to a less indulgent, crisper, lighter manner, thoroughly unsuited to many big-fat-diva sopranos. You’re right that neither is authentic, it simply comes down to preference. A lot of people prefer them.

And, of course, there’s now plenty of new music written specifically for countertenor - take a listen to Britten’s _Abraham and Isaac_ as a good example

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**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-need-for-countertenors/331673/22 "2005-11-21T10:12:57Z")

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Didn’t you moan about this already, **csharpmajor**? Why do you hate men? 😛

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**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-need-for-countertenors/331673/23 "2005-11-21T11:22:57Z")

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I posted exactly why they still exist, and I did it in the very first response to the OP.

Take the time to read and accept it. It might not be a reason to which you assign much value. If you wish to “debate” the relative merits of counter-tenors, then take it to GD. 😛

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