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Tenor
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The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the A above (A4) in choral music, and up to high C (C5) in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2 (two Bs below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C (F5).
Within opera, the lowest note in the standard tenor repertoire is A2 (Mime, Herod), but few roles fall below C3 (one octave below middle C).
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The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the A above (A4) in choral music, and up to high C (C5) in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2 (two Bs below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C (F5).
Within opera, the lowest note in the standard tenor repertoire is A2 (Mime, Herod), but few roles fall below C3 (one octave below middle C). The high extreme: many tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a "tenor C" (C5, one octave above middle C). While some operatic roles for tenor require a darker timbre and fewer high notes, it is generally accepted that any tenor should be able to sing with a full timbre up to an A4. In the leggiero repertoire the highest note is an F5 (Arturo in I puritani), therefore, very few tenors can have this role in their repertoire.
Within musical theatre, most tenor roles are written between B3 and A4, especially the romantic leads, although some fall as low as A2 (such as Anthony in Sweeney Todd) and others as high as D5 (such as Man #1 in Songs for a New World).
Origin of the term
The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word tenere, which means "to hold". In medieval and Renaissance polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the tenor was the structurally fundamental (or ‘holding’) voice, vocal or instrumental. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, which often proceeded in longer note values and carried a borrowed Cantus firmus melody. Until the late 15th century introduction of the contratenor bassus, the tenor was usually the lowest voice, assuming the role of providing a harmonic foundation. It was also in the 15th century that "tenor" came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. Thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked 'tenor' indicated the part's role, and not the required voice type. Indeed, even as late as the seventeenth century, partbooks labelled 'tenor' might contain parts for a range of voice types.
Tenor in choral music
In four-part choral music, the tenor is the second lowest voice, above the bass and below the soprano and alto. While certain choral music does require the first tenors to ascend the full tenor range, the majority of choral music places the tenors in the range from approximately B2 up to A4. The requirements of the tenor voice in choral music are also tied to the style of music most often performed by a given choir. Orchestra choruses require tenors with fully resonant voices, but chamber or a cappella choral music (sung with no instrumental accompaniment) can rely on light baritones singing in falsetto.
Even so, one nearly ubiquitous facet of choral singing is the shortage of tenor voices. Most men tend to have baritone voices and for this reason the majority of men tend to prefer singing in the bass section of a choir (however, true basses are even rarer than tenors). Some men are asked to sing tenor even if they lack the full range, and sometimes low altos are asked to sing the tenor part.
Other uses
The term tenor is also applied to instruments, such as the tenor saxophone, to indicate their range in relation to other instruments of the same group.
There are four parts in Barbershop harmony: bass, baritone, lead, and tenor (lowest to highest), with "tenor" referring to the highest part. The tenor generally sings in falsetto voice, corresponding roughly to the countertenor in classical music, and harmonizes above the lead, who sings the melody. The barbershop tenor range is B-below-middle C (B 3) to D-above-high C (D5), though it is written an octave lower. The "lead" in barbershop music is equivalent to the normal tenor range.
In bluegrass music, the melody line is called the lead. Tenor is sung an interval of a third above the lead. Baritone is the fifth of the scale that has the lead as a tonic, and may be sung below the lead, or even above the lead (and the tenor), in which case it is called "high baritone."
In rock and hair metal, there is a style of singing that requires a tenor to use a head voice/falsetto scream to sing most of the melodies. This allows them to stay on high treble notes (many close to or on tenor C) for extended amounts of time. Singers who have used this technique include Chris Cornell from Soundgarden, Klaus Meine from Scorpions, Joe Elliot of Def Leppard, Brian Johnson and Bon Scott of AC/DC, Jon Bon Jovi of Bon Jovi, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, and Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot.
A tenor is also classified as a drum used in a drum corps. or drum-line. The tenor drum consists of 5 or 6 drums of different tones, 4, 3, 2, 1, and one or two spocks. 4 is the lowest sounding drum and the right spock is the highest sounding drum. Tenors are also referred to as quads because of the four main drums, or quints including the spocks. The tenors, in a drum cadence, are usually a combination of bass drum and snare drum beats to give the cadence more of a groove.
Tenor voice classification
Within Choral and pop music, singers are classified into voice parts based almost solely on range with little consideration for other qualities in the voice. Within classical solo singing, however, a person is classified as a tenor through the identification of several vocal traits, including vocal range (the lowest and highest notes that the singer can reach), vocal timbre, vocal weight, vocal tessitura, vocal resonance, and vocal transition points (lifts or "passaggio") within the singer's voice. These different traits are used to identify different sub-types within the tenor voice sometimes referred to as fächer (sg. fach, from German Fach or Stimmfach, "vocal category"). Within opera, particular roles are written with specific kinds of tenor voices in mind, causing certain roles to be associated with certain kinds of voices.
Here follows the operatic tenor fächer, with examples of the roles from the standard repertory that they commonly sing. It should be noted that there is considerable overlap between the various categories of role and of voice-type; and that some singers have begun with lyric voices but have transformed with time into spinto or even dramatic tenors. (Enrico Caruso is a prime example of this kind of vocal development.) The categories are:
Leggiero tenor
The male equivalent of a lyric coloratura, this voice is light and very agile and is able to perform dextrous coloratura passages. The Leggiero tenor has a range of approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the Eb above tenor C (Eb5) with some leggiero tenors being able to sing up to the F or even higher. The voice is the highest tenor voice and is sometimes referred to as "tenore di grazia". This voice is utilized frequently in the operas of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini, and the highest Baroque repertoire for tenors. Leggiero tenors also frequently perform roles in the light-lyric tenor repertoire.
Leggiero tenor roles in opera and operettas:
- Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville (Rossini)
- Arturo, I puritani (Bellini)
- Belmonte, The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart)
- Elvino, La sonnambula (Bellini)
- Ernesto, Don Pasquale (Donizetti)
- Ferrando, Così fan tutte (Mozart)
- Gualtiero, Il pirata (Bellini)
- Lindoro, L'italiana in Algeri (Rossini)
- Nemorino, L'elisir d'amore (Donizetti)
- Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni (Mozart)
- Don Ramiro, La Cenerentola (Rossini)
- Tonio, La fille du régiment (Donizetti)
Leggiero tenor singers:
Lyric tenor
A warm graceful voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy and can be heard over an orchestra. Lyric tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C with some able to sing up to D5 and higher. Lyric tenors can be divided into two groups:
- Light lyric tenor — A light-lyric tenor has a slightly warmer sound than the Leggiero tenor and some coloratura facility but does not have quite as high of an upper extension as the leggiero tenor. This voice is used frequently within French comic operas.
- Full lyric tenor — A full-lyric tenor that has a more mature sound than a light-lyric tenor and can be heard over a bigger orchestra.
Light-lyric tenor roles in opera and operettas:
Full-lyric tenor roles in opera and operettas:
- Alfredo, La traviata (Verdi)
- Chevalier, Dialogues des Carmélites (Poulenc)
- David, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner)
- Duke of Mantua, Rigoletto (Verdi)
- Edgardo, Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti)
- Elvino, La sonnambula (Bellini)
- Faust, Faust (Gounod)
- Hoffmann, The Tales of Hoffmann (Offenbach)
- Idomeneo, Idomeneo (Mozart)
- Le Prince Charmant, Cendrillon (Massenet) (when performed by a tenor, originally written for soprano)
- Rodolfo, La bohème (Puccini)
- Roméo, Roméo et Juliette (Gounod)
- Tamino, Die Zauberflöte (Mozart)
- Werther, Werther (Jules Massenet)
- Wilhelm Meister, Mignon (Ambroise Thomas)
- Lurcanio, "Ariodante" Handel
Lyric tenor singers:
This voice has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes without strain. (They are also known as "lyric-dramatic" tenors.) Some spinto tenors may have a somewhat darker timbre than a lyric tenor as well, without being as dark as a dramatic tenor. Spinto tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5), and, like the lyric tenors, they are often capable of reaching D5 and sometimes higher.
Spinto tenor roles in opera and operettas:
- Alvaro, La forza del destino (Verdi)
- Andrea Chénier, Andrea Chénier (Umberto Giordano)
- Canio, Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
- Don Carlos, Don Carlos (Verdi)
- Don José, Carmen (Bizet)
- Erik, Der fliegende Holländer (Wagner)
- Ernani, Ernani (Verdi)
- Manrico, Il trovatore (Verdi)
- Mario Cavaradossi, Tosca (Puccini)
- Maurizio, Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea)
- Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
- Riccardo, Un ballo in maschera (Verdi)
- Turiddu, Cavalleria rusticana (Pietro Mascagni)
Spinto tenor singers:
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Dramatic tenor
Also "tenore di forza" or "robusto" – a ringing and very powerful, clarion heroic tenor. The dramatic tenor has an approximate range from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5). It should be noted, however, that many successful dramatic tenors have historically avoided the coveted high C in performance.
Dramatic tenor roles in opera and operettas:
Dramatic tenor singers:
Heldentenor
A rich, dark-toned, powerful, and dramatic voice. As its name implies, the Heldentenor (English: heroic tenor) vocal fach features in the German romantic operatic repertoire. The Heldentenor is the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality: the typical Wagnerian protagonist. The keystone of any heldentenor's repertoire is arguably Wagner's Siegfried, an extremely demanding role requiring a wide vocal range, great stamina, and extended dramatic suspension. The Heldentenor has an approximate range from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5). Note that the heldentenor voice possesses tremendous vocal weight. Often the heldentenor is a baritone who has transitioned to this fach. Therefore the heldentenor voice may not have facility up to high C--or even high B for that matter--however the repertoire rarely calls for these top notes.
Heldentenor roles in opera and operettas:
Fidelio (Beethoven) Tannhäuser, Tannhäuser (Wagner) Loge, Das Rheingold (Wagner) Lohengrin, Lohengrin (Wagner) Parsifal, Parsifal (Wagner) Siegfried, Götterdämmerung (Wagner) Siegfried, Siegfried (Wagner) Siegmund, Die Walküre (Wagner) Walter von Stolzing, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Tristan, Tristan und Isolde (Wagner)
Heldentenor singers:
Tenor buffo or Spieltenor
A tenor with good acting ability, and the ability to create distinct voices for his characters. This voice specializes in smaller comic roles. The range of the tenor buffo is from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5). The tessitura of these parts lies lower than the other tenor roles. These parts are often played by younger tenors who have not yet reached their full vocal potential or older tenors who are beyond their prime singing years. Only rarely will a singer specialize in these roles for an entire career.
Tenor buffo roles in opera and operettas:
The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) Mime, Siegfried (Wagner) Don Anchise/ Il Podestà, La finta giardiniera (Mozart) Monostatos, The Magic Flute (Mozart) Pedrillo, The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart)
Operetta
Tenor roles in operettas:
All of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas have at least one lead lyric tenor character; other notable roles are:
Candide)Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus)Camille, Count de Rosillon (The Merry Widow)Prince Karl (The Student Prince)Captain Dick (Naughty Marietta)
Tenors in pop music
Actors/entertainers who are tenors:
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