University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Doctoral Dissertations University of Connecticut Graduate School 4-15-2018 Male Zwischenfächer Voices and the Baritenor Conundrum Thaddaeus Bourne University of Connecticut - Storrs, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Bourne, Thaddaeus, "Male Zwischenfächer Voices and the Baritenor Conundrum" (2018). Doctoral Dissertations. 1779. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1779 Male Zwischenfächer Voices and the Baritenor Conundrum Thaddaeus James Bourne, DMA University of Connecticut, 2018 This study will examine the Zwischenfach colloquially referred to as the baritenor. A large body of published research exists regarding the physiology of breathing, the acoustics of singing, and solutions for specific vocal faults. There is similarly a growing body of research into the system of voice classification and repertoire assignment. This paper shall reexamine this research in light of baritenor voices. After establishing the general parameters of healthy vocal technique through appoggio, the various tenor, baritone, and bass Fächer will be studied to establish norms of vocal criteria such as range, timbre, tessitura, and registration for each Fach. The study of these Fächer includes examinations of the historical singers for whom the repertoire was created and how those roles are cast by opera companies in modern times. The specific examination of baritenors follows the same format by examining current and historical Zwischenfächer voices. Additionally, existing research on vocal faults is examined from the perspective of how the flaws in vocal technique may obscure the criteria of timbre, range, tessitura, and registration, thereby rendering voice classification impossible. Male Zwischenfächer Voices and the Baritenor Conundrum Thaddaeus James Bourne B.A., Butler University, 2002 M.M., Butler University, 2005 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Connecticut 2018 -i! - Copyright by Thaddaeus James Bourne 2018 -!ii- APPROVAL PAGE Doctor of Musical Arts Dissertation Male Zwischenfächer Voices & the Baritenor Conundrum Presented by Thaddaeus James Bourne B.A., M.M. Major Advisor ___________________________________________________________________ Dr. Alain Frogley Associate Advisor ___________________________________________________________________ Dr. Constance Rock Associate Advisor ___________________________________________________________________ Dr. Peter Kaminsky University of Connecticut 2018 -!iii- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not be possible without the help, guidance, and patience of my dissertation committee. I must especially thank Dr. Constance Rock for mentoring this research from the initial stages and, along with Mary Anne Scott, Brian Leeper, and Claudia Waite, leading me down the path from flutist to singer. I must also thank Dr. Alain Frogley and Dr. Peter Kaminsky for their help in formulating effective prose and formatting this work as well as Leann Sanders for her meticulous eyes and judicious advice. Finally I must thank Deborah Prather and Timothy Grino for guiding my early studies of music, Karen Moratz for shaping me as an artist, and my family for their unfailing support at all times. All of their contributions were directly beneficial to this work. I am humbled by their generosity. -iv! - TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter 1 3 FUNDAMENTALS: the Physiology of Singing 3 Posture 4 The Pelvis 5 Spinal Column (back bone, vertebral column) 5 Thorax (chest & back, upper torso) 7 The Head and Neck 11 Breath Management (Breath Support, Support) 16 Figure 1.1 The 4 Phases of Appoggio 18 Registration 30 Figure 1.2 Basic Registration of the Human Voice 34 Low Register (Chest Register, voce di petto) 34 Middle Register (Mixed Register, Zone of Passage, zona di passaggio, voce mista) 35 High Register (Upper Register, Head Voice, voce di testa) 37 Falsetto 39 Chapter 2 44 TENORS 44 Figure 2.1 The Tenor Fächer 52 Tenore Leggiero (Coloratura Tenor, Tenore di Grazia, Light-Lyric Tenor) 53 Roles for Tenore Leggiero (Light-Lyric Tenor, Coloratura Tenor, Tenor di Grazia) 56 Character Tenor (Charaktertenor, Spieltenor, Tenore Buffo, Operetta Tenor) 56 Roles for Character Tenor 61 Lyric Tenor (Lyrischer Tenor, Tenore Lirico) 61 Roles for Lyric Tenor (Lyrischer Tenor, Tenore Lirico) 64 Tenore Lirico Spinto (Heavy Lyric, Tenore Lirico Abbondanza) 65 Spinto Tenor 65 Roles for Spinto Tenor 67 -!v- Dramatic Tenor (Jugendlicher Dramatischer Tenor, Tenore Drammatico, Tenore Robusto) 68 Roles for Dramatic Tenor (Tenore Drammatico) 70 Heldentenor (Heroic Tenor, Wagnerian Tenor, Tenore Eroica) 71 Roles for Heldentenor 76 Chapter 3 77 BARITONES & BASSES 77 Figure 3.1 The Baritone & Bass Fächer 79 Lyric Baritone (Lyrishcer Bariton, Spielbariton, Baritono Lirico) 79 The Baryton-Martin 81 Roles for the Baryton-Martin or Lighter Lyric Baritone 88 The Lyric Baritone 89 Roles for the Lyric Baritone 91 Cavalier Baritone 92 Roles for the Cavalier Baritone 93 The Verdi Baritone (Helden Bariton, Baryton-Noble) 93 Roles for the Verdi Baritone 97 Dramatic Baritone/Dramatic Bass Baritone (Hoher Bass, Baritono Drammatico) 98 Roles for Dramatic Baritone/ Dramatic Bass Baritone 102 Lyric Bass (Bass Baritone; Basso Cantate) 103 Roles for the Bass Baritone/Lyric Bass 105 Bass (Basso Profondo, Schwartzbass, Basso, True Bass, Dramatic Bass) 105 Roles for Bass 107 Chapter 4 108 BARITENORS 108 The Four Criteria of Vocal Classification 111 Range 111 Tessitura 112 Passaggio 113 Timbre 114 -vi! - Historical Perspective 116 Figure 4-1 McCoy’s Display of Frequency and Pitch 126 Physiological Development vs. Vocal Faults: Fixing What Can Be Fixed 128 Nasality: the False Squillo That Elevates 131 The Deep Depression of a Swallowed Tone 146 Etudes and Arias: the Marriage of Vocal Exercises and Repertoire 150 Figure 4-2 Miller’s Exercises for Moving from Baritone to Tenor 152 Finding the Tessitura 154 Figure 4-3 Miller’s Exercises for Tenor Tessitura 156 Conclusion 160 Bibliography 161 -!vii- Introduction Singing, much like psychology and dieting, is a subject where everyone is a self- proclaimed expert. The various traditions of vocal music-making all use the same instrument, the human voice. The voice is created when air in the lungs is moved passed the adducted vocal folds in the larynx. When the pressure of the breath is balanced with the tension of the adducted folds, the desired pitch is created. The desired power, timbre, and words are created by modifying the space and articulators of the vocal tract. This is the instrument of the human voice. It has been used since the evolution of the human body. Various traditions of aesthetics for particular sounds, language, architecture and venues, clothing that may affect movement, etc., shape the vocal traditions of a culture. Before the rise of artificial amplification, all of these factors were the responsibility of the artist. They had to project their voice in the venue over the accompaniment with sufficient power to be understood while making the required sounds. In western music the rise of music drama, largely opera, coupled with changes from marble cathedrals and stone castles to concert halls and theatres, along with a growing orchestra of instruments that evolved to create more powerful sounds, created a demand for powerful voices that could sing for hours at a time and be understood across great distances. As roles written for these vocal athletes were eventually performed by other singers, roles of similar athletic requirements were grouped into repertoires for which singers who matched those abilities could be hired. -!1- The German basis for voice classification, the Fach System has since become the international foundation for labelling singers. Although there are many labels, or Fächer, human voices contain as many variations as the human body. Like the human body these voices are in a continuous state of change as they age. Because of these variations some voices can experience an identity crisis when they fail to align with a label. This is a problem for men who cannot determine whether tenor or baritone is a better fit and women who cannot decide between soprano and mezzo soprano. This study will examine these ambiguous voices focusing on the baritenor. The first chapter shall establish a foundation of basic physiology and acoustic principles related to singing. Chapter 2 will examine the Fächer associated with the tenor and Chapter 3 will do the same for baritone and bass Fächer. Chapter 4 will focus specifically on baritenor voices building on the research of healthy vocal technique, correcting vocal flaws, and repertoire as it relates to Zwischenfächer men. -!2- Chapter 1 FUNDAMENTALS: the Physiology of Singing There are very possibly as many opinions regarding the management of breath in singing as there are teachers of singing!1 Dr. Constance Rock’s statement applies not only to breath management but indeed to every aspect of singing. A brief survey of vocal literature sufficiently proves that each treatise comes with its own unique definition to even the most “standard” concepts of vocal pedagogy. It is not the purpose of this study to prove the validity of the appoggio technique or establish its maximal effectiveness at producing vocal efficiency as compared to other methods of singing. These facts have been amply explored and proven by pedagogues such