Sopranist

A sopranist, also sometimes referred to as a sopranista, is a countertenor who is able to sing in the soprano vocal range, normally spanning from A3 to C6 in total physical range, though at times going much higher. Both baritone-based and tenor-based singers can possess the wide-ranged and effective falsetto needed to produce the alto, mezzo and soprano ranges, though like some countertenors, some sopranist possess natural head-voice alongside their natural bass-voice (which is normally a chest-voice) and need not employ any falsetto (in fact, their falsetto is hardly usable, seeing as it hardly reaches A4 for baritone-based sopranists or C5 for tenor based sopranists - see next section).

[edit] The Sopranist Technique

A countertenor is normally defined by a male singer whose falsetto is naturally stronger than the common, weak, falsetto and can be used to sing professionally without any damage to the vocal cords. Furthermore, unlike with normal male singers, the countertenor falsetto is technically equivalent to that of female ranges, in relation to sound production, passaggios and range (though some vocal tutors report that countertenors require more "support" in order to maintain their head voice, as opposed to maintaining their chest- or base-voice).

A sopranist is, specifically, a countertenor whose passagios (normally on the Fs) and register are equivalent to those of a soprano (normally on the Fs). The "sopranist range" is mostly attributed to F#5 and above, though it is sometimes further divided further to "soprano range", F#5-C6, and "sopranino range", C#6 and above. Some sopranists, like Philippe Jaroussky, are not able to reach a soprano C, which is C6 (Jaroussky can reach up to B5), but unlike tenors, sopranos are not required to produce any note to prove that they are indeed sopranos. As said above, much like alto and mezzo countertenors, a sopranist can either possess a particularly capable falsetto or alternatively a natural headvoice. A simple test to prove which nature applies is whether the singer can go into falsetto from his base-voice, thereby producing a weak and unsingable sound with very limited range (normally A4 for baritone based singers and C5 for tenor based singers), and whether the singer can descend to chest voice using his natural head voice (sometimes referred to as "contra-voice"), with a range below middle C and below F#3 (the lowest note for an alto) and down to C#3. However, most singers are not able to achieve this capability (employing falsetto or descending from head-voice to chest-voice) without a fair amount of tutoring and experience, though this test cannot be applied to beginning singers.

Many times, a countertenor who is for some time believed to be an alto or mezzo type, at some point (most likely after achieving good technique and support) discovers a higher range. Normally, this range begins at F#5 or G5. Sometimes, a countertenor that in training only achieved G5 is thought to be a mezzo, when if fact with proper training he can reach higher, as happens in due course many times. The reason behind this, most likely, is that the soprano range, especially for male singers, requires an even greater amount of support and well learned and implemented technique (which is already greater compared to other kind of classical singers). Therefore, only at a certain point a singer discovers a further range and begins to develop it.

Because sopranists are currently rather scarce, it is as of yet hard to classify and distinguish types of sound they produce. It is evident, however, that much like alto and mezzo countertenors, vocal qualities differ greatly between various sopranist, from having small and thin voices to large and thick (or "dark timbered") voices, the latter normally rarer.

[edit] The Sopranist Repertoire

There is a large body of music for the male soprano that was written when it was common to use a castrato - a voice type which, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists, as the practice of castrating trebles was abolished before the end of the 19th century. Sopranists are very rare, since most countertenors are altos and mezzos. In fact, probably because early famous countertenors were altos (like Alfred Deller), it was believed for a long time that countertenors can only be altos (and later, mezzo countertenors, like David Daniels or Jochen Kowalski were recognized). While there is some modern repertoire written for countertenors (sometimes written specifically for certain singers, like Britten's Death in Venice, which has a part that was written specifically for James Bowman, or David Daniels, for whom a cantata was recently composed), at present there only a small number of modern pieces written specifically for the sopranist vocal type.

The first well known sopranist was Aris Christofellis, who began officially performing in the 1970s and has produced numerous recordings.

Common vocal ranges represented
on a musical keyboard