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) |
Read more about this topic: Italian Musical Terms Used In English
Famous quotes containing the word voices:
“And in counterpoint, from other windows,
the effort to be merry—ay, maracas!
Msibilant, intricate—the voices wailing pleasure,
arriving perhaps at joy, late, after sets
have been switched off, and silences
are dark windows?”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“O, let us have him, for his silver hairs
Will purchase us a good opinion,
And buy men’s voices to commend our deeds.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“There are these sudden mobs of men,
These sudden clouds of faces and arms,
An immense suppression, freed,
These voices crying without knowing for what,
Except to be happy, without knowing how,
Imposing forms they cannot describe,
Requiring order beyond their speech.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)