Italian Musical Terms Used in English - Voices

Voices

Soprano upper The highest vocal line
Mezzo-soprano middle-upper Between soprano and alto
Alto high Second-highest vocal line
Contralto against high Alto, esp. a female alto
Basso low Or "bass;" the lowest vocal line
Basso profondo deep and low A very deep bass voice
Castrato castrated A male singer, castrated so as to be able to sing soprano (now sung by women, conventional countertenors, or sopranisti)

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Famous quotes containing the word voices:

    We love to hear some men speak, though we hear not what they say; the very air they breathe is rich and perfumed, and the sound of their voices falls on the ear like the rustling of leaves or the crackling of the fire. They stand many deep.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    There are these sudden mobs of men,
    These sudden clouds of faces and arms,
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    Except to be happy, without knowing how,
    Imposing forms they cannot describe,
    Requiring order beyond their speech.
    Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)

    A city is a place where there is no need to wait for next week to get the answer to a question, to taste the food of any country, to find new voices to listen to and familiar ones to listen to again.
    Margaret Mead (1901–1978)