Tenor

Categories: Vocal ranges

This article is about Tenor in music. For other meanings see Tenor (disambiguation).
Vocal ranges
Female ranges
Soprano
Mezzo-soprano
Contralto

Male ranges

Sopranist
Alto
Tenor
Baritenor
Baritone
Bass-baritone
Bass

In music, a tenor is a male singer with a high voice (although not as high as a countertenor). In four part chorale-style harmony, it is the second lowest voice, above the bass and below the soprano and alto. A typical tenor will have a range extending roughly from the C an octave below middle C to the C above middle C (i.e. C3-C5). In a mixed-gender choir, females may also sing as tenors. Unlike its female counterpart, the soprano, tenors are frequently required to execute the Tenor C, C5, on demand in order to be considered a true tenor.

Image:Rosario la spina.jpg
Rosario la Spina, an Australian born tenor

Generally the tenor roles are parallel to the soprano roles, in that they are usually the most sympathetic male roles; they play the hero, the lover... but there are the occasional villains (the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto; Lt. Pinkerton and Goro in Madame Butterfly)

Contents

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Types

In opera, distinctions are made between different types of tenor:

  • Tenore drammatico, di forza or robusto: a powerful, rich, heroic tenor (Verdi's Otello)
  • Heldentenor: the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality; the typical Wagnerian protagonist (Lohengrin, Siegfried, Siegmund, Parsifal)
  • Tenore leggero: a light, flexible tenor, specializing in the Mozartean repertoire, but also in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini, and sometimes specializing in Baroque repertoire or in comical roles
  • Tenore Buffo: a relatively weak voice with certain limitations, with a timbre that is not entirely appealing. Specializes in comic roles such as Don Basilio in Mozart's "Le Nozze Di Figaro" or Monostatos in Mozart's "Die Zauberflote"
  • Tenore lirico or di grazia: a lightweight, graceful, lyric tenor (the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto; Rodolfo in La Boheme)
  • Tenore (lirico) spinto: a lyric tenor with more "punch", therefore able to play more heroic roles (Radamès in Aida)
  • Trial: a high, thin, nasal tenor, used for character roles. Named after Antoine Trial (1736-1792), a singer at the Opéra Comique. (Bénoit in La Boheme)
  • Baritenor, a lyric dark tenor, or one with a strong baritonic lower register, but tops out only a A or B above middle C.
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Origin of the term

The name "tenor" comes from the Latin word tenere, which means "to hold". In medieval music, the tenor voice was always assigned the cantus firmus, the main melody. The other voices added harmony and counterpoint to the tenor.


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Other uses

In the Barbershop harmony musical style, the name "tenor" is used for the highest part. The four parts are known (lowest to highest) as bass, baritone, lead, and tenor. The tenor generally sings in falsetto voice (thus the term tenor used in barbershop terminology most closely corresponds to the term countertenor as used in classical music), and harmonizes above the lead, who sings the melody. The barbershop tenor range is, as notated, Bb-below-middle C to D-above-high-C (and sung an octave lower).

It is often applied to instruments to indicate their range in relation to other instruments of the same group. For instance the tenor saxophone.

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Famous tenors

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Classical music

Image:Sopran.png
Soprano
Image:Altstimme.png
Alto
Image:Tenor.png
Tenor
Image:Bass.png
Basso

Many of the most famous opera singers have been tenors, such as:

There have also been some tenors who have been well known for other types of music, who have concentrated on concert performances either with orchestras, or in chamber music, such as lieder or song recitals. These performers may be better known for this kind of work than for opera. Famous tenors of this repertory include

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Popular and crossover music

NOTE: In most cases, it is not possible to find a reputable source for the vocal range of pop singers. It seems most names were listed here on an empirical basis. It must be noted that in the pop world, the vocal range of a singer is often artificially enhanced.

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See also

es:Tenor fr:Ténor ko:테너 it:Tenore hu:Tenor nl:Tenor (zangstem) ja:テノール pl:Tenor pt:Tenor fi:Tenori sv:Tenor zh:男高音