The Choir

Tenor / 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.

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)

A Basso (or bass) is a male singer who sings in the lowest vocal range of the human voice. A typical bass has a range extending from around the F below the bottom of the bass clef to the E above middle C (i.e. F2-E4). Bass also used to refer to a low speaking voice. In classical music, and particularly in opera, the following distinctions are often made among different kinds of bass voices:

• Basso profondo (frequently misspelled basso profundo or French basse noble) is a particularly deep and resonant voice. It may reach the B below the bass clef, but is most distinguished by its dark and cavernous timbre. A typical role in opera is Sarastro from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

• Basso cantante (French basse chantante) is a lighter, more lyrical voice, perhaps with a slightly higher range. A typical role in opera is Escamillo from Bizet's Carmen.

• Basso buffo literally means "comic bass." It is used to describe operatic roles that do not call for lyrical, elaborate singing but do require a strong comic acting ability. A typical role in opera is Don Bartolo from Rossini's opera Il barbiere di Siviglia.

• Bass-baritone is a voice with the resonant low notes of the typical bass but with the ability to sing in a baritonal tessitura. Sometimes it also refers to a voice with a range and tone somewhere between a bass and a baritone. A typical role in opera is Wotan from Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.

The following are just a few of the many talented Tenors or Bassos:

Tenors Bassos (classical)

Andrea Bocelli Kurt Bohme

Jose Carreras Boris Christoff

Enrico Caruso Kurt Moll

Placido Domingo Ezio Pinza

Mario Lanza Samual Ramey

Lucianno Pavarotti Sir John Tomlinson

Jon Vickers Isaac Hayes (pop)

Fritz Wunderlich Barry White (pop)

Top Ten reasons for being a Tenor

10. Tenors get high without drugs.

9. Name a musical where the tenor got the girl.

8. You can show sopranos how it SHOULD be sung.

7. Did you ever hear of anyone paying £1000 a ticket to hear the Three Basses?

6. Who needs brains when you've got resonance?

5. Tenors never have to waste time looking through self-improvement books.

4. You can sing along with John Denver's 'High Calypso'.

3. When you get really good at falsetto you can make lots of money doing voice overs for cartoons.

2. Gregorian chant was practically invented for the tenor. Nobody invented a genre for basses.

1. You can entertain your friends doing impersonations.

Top Ten reasons for being a Bass

10. You don't have to tighten your pants to reach your note.

9. You don't have to worry about a woman stealing your job.

8. Or a pre-adolescent boy.

7. Action heroes are always basses. That is if they ever sang they would be a bass.

6. You get great memorable lyrics like bop, bop, bop, bop.

5. If the singing job doesn't work out, there's always broadcasting.

4. You never have to learn to read the treble clef.

3. If you get a cold, so what.

2. For fun you can sing at the bottom of your range and fool people into thinking there's an earthquake.

1. If you belch while you're singing, the audience just thinks it's part of the score.