Bass (voice type)

This article is about the male voice type. For other uses, seeBass.

Abassis a type ofclassicalmalesingingvoiceand has the lowestvocal rangeof allvoice types.According toThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera,a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E belowmiddle Cto the E above middle C (i.e.,E₂–E₄).Itstessitura,or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of thebass clef.Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system.

Italians favour subdividing basses into thebasso cantante(singing bass),basso buffo(comical bass), or the dramaticbasso profondo(deep bass). The American systemidentifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass.

The GermanFachsystemoffers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classification systems can overlap. Rare is the performer who embodies a singleFachwithout also touching repertoire from another category.

History

Cultural influence and individual variation create a wide variation in range and quality of bass singers. Parts for basses have included notes as low as theB-flattwo octaves and a tone below middle C (B♭₁), for example inGustav Mahler'sSymphony No. 2and theRachmaninov'sAll-Night Vigil,Abelow that inFrederik Magle'ssymphonic suiteCantabile,Gbelow that (e.g. Measure 76 ofNe otverzhi menebyPavel Chesnokov) orFbelow those inKheruvimskaya pesn (Song of Cherubim)byKrzysztof Penderecki.Manybasso profondoshave trouble reaching those notes, and the use of them in works by Slavic composers has led to the colloquial term "Russian bass" for an exceptionally deep-ranged basso profondo who can easily sing these notes. Some traditional Russian religious music calls for A₂(110Hz) drone singing, which is doubled by A₁(55 Hz) in the rare occasion that a choir includes singers who can produce this very low human voice pitch.

Many British composers such asBenjamin Brittenhave written parts for bass (such as the first movement of his choral workRejoice in the Lamb) that center far higher than the basstessituraas implied by the clef.TheHarvard Dictionary of Musicdefines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C (i.e. E₂–C₄).

In choral music

InSATB four-part mixedchorus, the bass is the lowest vocal range, below thetenor,alto,andsoprano.Voices are subdivided into first bass and second bass with no distinction being made between bass andbaritonevoices, in contrast to the three-fold (tenor–baritone–bass) categorization of solo voices. The exception is in arrangements for male choir (TTBB) andbarbershop quartets(TLBB), which sometimes label the lowest two parts baritone and bass.

Range and subtypes

Bass vocal range (E₂–E₄) notated on thebassstaff(left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C₄)

Bass has the lowestvocal rangeof allvoice types,with the lowesttessitura.The low extreme for basses is generally C₂(two Cs below middle C). Some extreme bass singers, referred to asbasso profondosandoktavists,are able to reach much lower than this. Withinopera,the lowest note in the standard bass repertoire is D₂,sung by the character Osmin in Mozart'sDie Entführung aus dem Serail,but few roles fall below F₂.

Although Osmin's note is the lowest 'demanded' in the operatic repertoire, lower notes are heard, both written and unwritten: for example, it is traditional for basses to interpolate a low C in the duet "Ich gehe doch rathe ich dir" in the same opera; in Richard Strauss'Der Rosenkavalier,Baron Ochs has an optional C₂( "Mein lieber Hippolyte" ). The high extreme: a few bass roles in the standard repertoire call for a high F♯or G (F♯₄and G₄,the one above middle C), but few roles go over F₄.In the operatic bass repertoire, the highest notes are a G♯₄(The Barber inThe Noseby Shostakovich) and, in the aria "Fra l'ombre e gl'orrori" in Handel'sserenataAci, Galatea e Polifemo,Polifemo reaches an A₄.

Within the bass voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories:basso cantante(singing bass),hoherbass (high bass),jugendlicherbass (juvenile bass),basso buffo( "funny" bass),Schwerer Spielbass(dramatic bass), lyric bass, and dramaticbasso profondo(low bass).

Basso cantante/lyric high bass/lyric bass-baritone

Main article:Bass-baritone

Basso cantantemeans "singing bass".Basso cantanteis a higher, more lyrical voice. It is produced using a more Italianate vocal production, and possesses a faster vibrato, than its closest Germanic/Anglo-Saxon equivalent, thebass-baritone.

• Max,Le chaletbyAdolphe Adam
• Duke BluebeardBluebeard's CastlebyBéla Bartók
• Don Pizarro,FideliobyLudwig van Beethoven
• Count Rodolfo,La sonnambulabyBellini
• Blitch,SusannahbyCarlisle Floyd
• Méphistophélès,FaustbyCharles Gounod
• The King of Scotland,AriodantebyGeorge Frideric Handel
• Don Alfonso,Così fan tuttebyWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Don Giovanni,Don Giovanniby Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Figaro,The Marriage of Figaroby Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• The Voice of the Oracle,Idomeneoby Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Silva,ErnanibyGiuseppe Verdi
• Philip II,Don Carlosby Giuseppe Verdi
• Count Walter,Luisa Millerby Giuseppe Verdi
• Ferrando,Il trovatoreby Giuseppe Verdi

Hoher Bass/dramatic high bass/dramatic bass-baritone

Hoher Bassor "high bass" or often a dramaticbass-baritone.

• Igor,Prince IgorbyAlexander Borodin
• Boris,Boris GodunovbyModest Mussorgsky
• Klingsor,ParsifalbyRichard Wagner
• Wotan,Der Ring des Nibelungenby Richard Wagner
• Caspar,Der FreischützbyCarl Maria von Weber
• Banquo,MacbethbyGiuseppe Verdi
• Zaccaria,Nabuccoby Giuseppe Verdi
• Fiesco,Simon Boccanegraby Giuseppe Verdi

Jugendlicher Bass

Jugendlicher Bass(juvenile bass) denotes the role of a young man sung by a bass, regardless of the age of the singer.

• Masetto,Don GiovannibyWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Colline,La bohèmebyGiacomo Puccini

Basso buffo/lyric buffo

Buffo,literally "funny", basses are lyrical roles that demand from their practitioners a solid coloratura technique, a capacity forpatter singingand ripe tonal qualities if they are to be brought off to maximum effect. They are usually the blustering antagonist of the hero/heroine or the comic-relief fool inbel cantooperas.

• Don Pasquale,Don PasqualebyGaetano Donizetti
• Dottor Dulcamara,L'elisir d'amoreby Gaetano Donizetti
• Doctor Bartolo,The Barber of SevillebyGioachino Rossini
• Don Magnifico,La Cenerentolaby Gioachino Rossini
• Don Alfonso,Così fan tuttebyWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Leporello,Don Giovanniby Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Papageno,Die Zauberflöteby Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• The Doctor,WozzeckbyAlban Berg

Schwerer Spielbass/dramatic buffo

English equivalent: dramatic bass

• Khan Konchak,Prince IgorbyAlexander Borodin
• Baculus,Der WildschützbyAlbert Lortzing
• Ferrando,Il trovatorebyGiuseppe Verdi
• Daland,Der fliegende HolländerbyRichard Wagner
• Varlaam,Boris GodunovbyModest Mussorgsky

Lyric basso profondo

Main article:Basso profondo

Basso profondo(lyric low bass) is the lowest bass voice type. According toJ. B. SteaneinVoices, Singers & Critics,the basso profondo voice "derives from a method of tone-production that eliminates the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a wall-like front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato, the slow beat or dreaded wobble."

• Rocco,FideliobyLudwig van Beethoven
• Osmin,Die Entführung aus dem SerailbyWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Sarastro,Die Zauberflöteby Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Pimen,Boris GodunovbyModest Mussorgsky
• Baron Ochs,Der RosenkavalierbyRichard Strauss
• Baldassarre,La favoritebyGaetano Donizetti

Dramatic basso profondo

English equivalent: dramatic low bass. Dramatic basso profondo is a powerful basso profondo voice.

• Il Commendatore,Don GiovannibyWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Hagen,GötterdämmerungbyRichard Wagner
• Heinrich,Lohengrinby Richard Wagner
• Gurnemanz,Parsifalby Richard Wagner
• Fafner,Das RheingoldandSiegfriedby Richard Wagner
• Marke,Tristan und Isoldeby Richard Wagner
• Hunding,Die Walküreby Richard Wagner
• The Varangian (Viking) Guest,SadkobyNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
• The Grand Inquisitor,Don CarlobyGiuseppe Verdi
• Claggart,Billy BuddbyBenjamin Britten

In Gilbert and Sullivan

All of theGilbert and SullivanSavoy operas,exceptPatienceandThe Yeomen of the Guard,have at least one lead bass. Notable roles include:

• Adam Goodheart,Ruddigore
• Arac,Princess Ida
• Bob Becket (Carpenter's mate),H.M.S. Pinafore
• Don Alhambra del Bolero,The Gondoliers
• The Mikado of Japan,The Mikado
• The Notary,The Sorcerer
• Private Willis,Iolanthe
• Sergeant of Police,The Pirates of Penzance

See also

• Category of basses
• Fach,the German system for classifying voices
• Voice classification in non-classical music
• List of basses in non-classical music

External links

• Guide to the singing voice,BBC Wales
• Basses in Bach’s vocal works
• Media related toBass vocalistsat Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition ofBassat Wiktionary