A tall, broad-shouldered man strides onto the stage. He physically dominates the chamber orchestra behind him, partly through size, and partly through charisma. Some way over six feet, with dark hair and glasses, he clears his throat - a deep, baritone growl - and then begins to sing.
Like a girl.
The experts say that listening to German countertenor Andreas Scholl is the closest the modern world will come to experiencing the castrati, Italian choristers who were snipped before puberty in order to preserve their child-like voices during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. There is only one surviving castrato recording, of dubious quality, but Scholl’s vocal range is the same as the castrato for whom Handel wrote some of his greatest roles.
Last night, I went to see Andreas Scholl perform a one-off set of Baroque music at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. I’m really starting to enjoy Baroque music, and the performance had the added bonus of Chiara Banchini directing the orchestra (anyone who thinks violins sound ’screechy’ should listen to her play).
There is something very wrong - at least initially - with hearing such a high voice coming out of such a large man. I spent the first minute or so staring at him, subconsciously suspicious, I think, that I was being tricked, that there was a female ventriloquist hiding in one of the boxes. Sure, there are men around with high voices, and rock stars who can climb into the falsetto range with aplomb. No matter how hard they train, however, the effort is always obvious. Not so with Scholl. I imagine he’s able to break glass with his voice (something the Mythbusters crew found to be eminently possible using rock countertenors Chester Bennington and Jamie Vendera). In Scholl’s case, mum’s entire crystal set would probably finish up smashed to atoms - not just one glass.
I found myself wondering just what he could do with decent amplification. He had no microphone for the whole
performance. Even without it, there were moments when he’d hit the vocal go pedal and the roof felt like it was going to lift into the stratosphere.
As I listened, I also noticed that he didn’t really sound like a woman (as well as sounding completely unlike a man). Historically, the castrati sang in church choirs because aficionados thought they sounded like angels, which in Catholic tradition were regarded as sexless. For a modern audience, I suspect some of the frisson of watching Scholl sing stems from having our notions of gender and sexuality messed about just a little.
Thanks to the gremlin that’s stopping me from posting You Tube vids on Catallaxy, I’ll instead direct readers to this link, where you can watch Scholl performing a piece with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (by all reports a very fine outfit).
36 Comments
Countertenors can have absolutely beautiful voices - while I’ve never seen one perform live, I’ve always enjoyed listening to them.
The stories about how boys became castrati centuries ago are horrifying to modern ears. Apparently, they were often superstars - the rock stars of their time.
Andreas is a very good looking man too.
Apparently the castrato Scholl’s voice most resembles - Senesino - resurrected Handel’s financial fortunes at one point, he was that popular.
I’ve never understood the countertenor voice (I sang in choirs for years). It’s not the same as the “head voice”. I wonder if it’s just a very high male voice?
Try this for info about (Scholl’s and the) countertenor voice
I’ve never been able to take to the counter-tenor voice. To me it sounds (and feels) unnatural — like singing on the wrong side of your tongue, or something. Parts scored for the castrato voice can be more effectively sung by female contraltos, IMO.
Falsetto - that’s the word I was trying to think of instead of “head voice”. A good falsetto voice is extremely impressive.
Missing slashes be damned. Please delete the first if you feel like it.
I had the opposite experience recently, though not quite as extreme, and sadly not in person.
Ana of Ana and Jorge, has a disconcertingly (at first) low voice, but once you get past that she offers, like Scholl i imagine, something completely different, and beautiful.
he song is called E isso i and is, more or less, a cover of Damien Rices the blowers daughter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjmLI0VyLmM
Try to catch some Purcell SL, Dido and Aeneas is fun
Sacha you are absolutely correct concerning castratos.
Made huge money for their times.
I hate this kind of opera but it the one type of opera my wife loves.
Do you sing to her in the that high pitched tone, Homer?
Julius Caesar is her favourite opera possibly the only one.
I hate it.
Well, for someone who had listened to precisely zero (countem) pieces of classical music in my time (apart from a few bits of church stuff at school, and the odd bit of stuff when I was researching The Hand), the Edinburgh Festival has been a revelation. I actually like a lot of it (shock, horror), but Scholl has been the highlight so far.
I have to say I got my programme signed after the performance, while Deus Ex Macintosh bought the only CD of his she doesn’t own and got him to sign that.
Went to the Tattoo last night, which rocked. I can honestly say I’ve always liked bagpipes. The tattoo just confirmed it further.
Nice to get these reports and to hear from you, SL. Nothing intelligent to add, unlike my cultured betters above. I’m a bit like your pre-Edinburgh self. A classic live performance by gender-bending talents for me still involves Marshalled riffage, rock ‘n roll and a Fender Telecaster. Less Tattoo than Tattoo You.
Thanks, CL. Nice to see you floating around the interwebs. You’d like the Tattoo - they had a steel band from the Trinidad police playing Sousa marches at one point. It was a bloody riot!
Mikey:
“I had the opposite experience recently, though not quite as extreme, and sadly not in person.”
Me too!
I’m really enjoying this Edinburgh Fest. reviews Skeptic. Nice to have a bit of intelligent appreciation without all the (f)artsy nonsense. The director might be a tosser but it sounds as if Edinburgh gets a much deal than Melbourne. Getting into new stuff is always lots of fun and it comes across.
Funnily enough I went to the NGV yesterday and one of the two paintings I squizzed was Amigoni’s portrait of the castrato Farinelli and his friends. It was painted when Farinelli was in his late forties and he was a very good-looking fellow appearing much younger. He also looked as masculine as you can in 18th century Venetian gard topped with a peachy pink jacket. Next to him was the beautiful Madrid bella donna Teresa Castellini. Their body language indicates a mutual attraction, but for Farinelli alas.
The other painting, as if anybody cares, was Vaclav Brozik’s The Defenestration 1618 which made me think of Currency Lad for some reason.
Incidentally CL, is Tatoo You a good album? Never bought any Stones’ full albums after Exile on Main Street.
Funny world, I was there yesterday too, Adrien. But I preferred not to closely examine the pics of castrated gents from a coupla hundred years ago. Horse for courses I guess.
Did you go into the Antony and Cleopatra room?
Went and breezed through the modern stuff. I really don’t like old art very much. I want to vomit when I see modern art with a political bent though. Its such a cliche these days.
Went to a lunch earlier today at the ACCA where the guest speaker was talking about the Venice Biennali and she showed some slides and pics of it.
She was bit of a lefty (of course) but even she was downbeat about the event this year as a lot of the exhibitions she said were all about war, suffering, death and destruction. What else? That’s what a good part of public art is these days.
I loudly sniggered when she mentioned one of our artists had displayed some volcano erruption thingi photo exhibit that was supposd to have happened in Indonesia which was somehow human induced.
When it came time for questions I asked her if she could eleborate a little on this particular part as I was curious as to how it could happen. She told us she she disn’t know exactly.
Seeing I was invited I decided not to go further.
In any event the entire Venice thing sounds like it was a leftist slugfest of lis and deception.
She said Iraq featured prominently. How creative!!!
She told us she she disn’t know exactly but that’s what the science says….. Ummmmmmm. Wish Birdie was there.
..as a lot of the exhibitions she said were all about war, suffering, death and destruction. What else? That’s what a good part of public art is these days.
Yeah. It’s the ex-hippie protestor in the classroom thing. All these people who believe the 60s was this massively important political era and believe that it’s their duty to make all their students carry on the revolution. And what comes out is all this half-baked bollocks that’s funded and displayed because, y’know like, it’s against the war man. And naturally it’s gonna result in a major overhaul of international foreign relations. Not.
Good political art is very rare and lot of political art is just assinine nonsense that uses issues to disguise an absence of work or imagination.
PS Did you see Guggenheim? Is it worth it?
“Did you see Guggenheim? Is it worth it?”
I thought so, but then I didn’t see what my Mum paid for my ticket.
Worth an hour or two of your time though, for sure.
Wifey did. She was a little under whelmed as a lot of it was way off accoding to her.
I actually never like the Guggenheim in NYC and stayed away from it as there were far more superior galleries holding modern art. At least that is my personal opinion and as you know art is a very perosnal thing. The space is great though however i think they could do a little better on the curator side.
“I thought so”
See what i mean
The space is great though however i think they could do a little better on the curator side.
Like the Melbourne Museum?
I had a look at the catalogue for the show and it looks pretty second rate. I got ripped off with the Crappiest Paintings the Durch Masters Ever Did, the Scrawls From Picasso’s Message Pad and What Andy Warhol Kept In His Spare Bedroom Dresser Drawers..
Shoulda gone up to Brizvegas for Asia-Pacific Triennale. That mighta been something.
The Guggenheim building in Bilbao is to die for.
The melbourne M is just a fantastic building. they could not have done any better.
Yea I went and saw the dutch masters thing and it was really second rate.
I gotta tell you though, the melbourne, private art galleries are no slouches when it come to modern art. They have some great exhibitions.
I actually think aboriginal art is truly terrific. One gal I know who is involved with one of the auction houses told us that Aboriginal art is one of the most important modern art movements in the 20th century.
Some of the stuff is truly terrific and I appreciate why.
#28 Yep. I don’t do the art thing much right now. But the little galleries are where you can expect really nice surprises. A lot of it’s boring of course. But there’s some really cool stuff. I think you’re the only other person I know who thinks the museum is funky - just this crazy building with a huge Rubik’s Cube attached. I was so disappointed the one time I went inside. Really dull.
I actually like the material they used… the blue stone is great and it has a great feel about the place.
Sorry, but are we talking about the same place as I am a little confused….
We’re talking about the Arts gallery or the disgusting building opposite Flinders street station…..?
I’m talking about the St. kilda road gallery.
I truly despise the one opposite the station…
I get the names of those two mixed up…
I find that building opp. Flinders street no better than vomit. It’s built to make a statement and it makes a bad one at that.
JC:
“I actually think aboriginal art is truly terrific. One gal I know who is involved with one of the auction houses told us that Aboriginal art is one of the most important modern art movements in the 20th century.
Some of the stuff is truly terrific and I appreciate why.”
Some mates of mine run a little gallery in Collingwood you should check out then. Mostly Kimberley and NT artists, with occasional non-Indigenous modern stuff. I’ll ignore the little ad-hom jibe upthread except to say that I wasn’t exactly overwhelmed myself - the Guggenheim show was probably worth taking the time to see is all.
Adrien:
“crazy building with a huge Rubik’s Cube attached. I was so disappointed the one time I went inside. Really dull.”
I’m kind of a fan of the building, but the one time I went to see what was on I ended up just drinking a second-rate coffee and going home without seeing any of the tedious-looking crapola on offer.
The Melbourne Museum is neither JC - it’s up on Nicholson Rd in Carlton next to the old parliament house.
St Kilda Rd is NGV International, Fed Square is NGV Australia.
huh!
Thanks FDB.
What’s the name of the collingwood place.
Mossenson Gallery Collingwood - it’s on Derby St/Rd - between Smith and Wellington, one south of Langridge.
If you like I could tip you off on the next monthly-ish free booze exhibition opening - being from Freo originally they’ve got a deal with Little Creatures, so if you don’t dig the art at least the beer’s world class.
Thanks again FDB
yes little creatures is a great brew, possibly the best brew I’ve ever had. mmmmmm hink i’ll get one out of the fridge now. hardly ever drink.