Contratenor

This article deals with the contratenor in the musical part. For the pitch see countertenor .

In the music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, a contratenor is a voice opposite to the tenor , the main voice responsible for the cantus firmus .

Contratenor voices first appear in the 14th century. While at the beginning of the century in three-part pieces nor the combination of two high voices ( Duplum and Triplum ) with a deep voice (tenor) is the rule that will change the course of the century: In place of Triplumstimme takes the countertenor voice, mostly in in the same position as the tenor part.

Two types of contratenor voices can be distinguished well into the 15th century: The first type has a rhythm similar to that of the mostly simple tenor. In the second type, the contratenor forms complicated counter-rhythms to the other voices and is noticeably erratic.

At the transition to four-part the contratenor is divided into

• contratenor altus , the high voice against the tenor; this voice was usually performed by high male voices and lives on in the terms altus or countertenor for falsetting male singers
• contratenor bassus , the deep voice against the tenor

In certain musical forms, the contratenor parts could also be performed instrumentally.

literature

Carl Dahlhaus and Heinrich Eggebrecht: Brockhaus Riemann Musiklexikon Volume 1, Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, revised and expanded edition 1995, paperback 2001, ISBN 3-254-08396-2 , p. 271.