Early centuries In
polyphonic compositions of the 14th and early 15th centuries, the
contratenor was a voice part added to the basic two-part contrapuntal texture of discant (
superius) and
tenor (from the
Latin , which means to hold, since this part "held" the music's melody, while the
superius descanted upon it at a higher pitch). Though having approximately the same range as the tenor, it was generally of a much less melodic nature than either of these other two parts. With the introduction in about 1450 of four-part writing by composers such as
Ockeghem and
Obrecht, the
contratenor split into
contratenor altus and
contratenor bassus, which were respectively above and below the tenor. however, the rise of which coincided with the arrival of a fashion for
castrati. For example, the latter took several roles in the first performance of
Monteverdi's ''
L'Orfeo (1607). Castrati were already prominent by this date in Italian church choirs, replacing both falsettists and trebles; the last soprano falsettist singing in Rome, Juan [Johannes de] San[c]tos (a Spaniard), died in 1652. In Italian opera, by the late seventeenth century castrati predominated, while in France, the modal high tenor, called the haute-contre'', was established as the voice of choice for leading male roles. In England
Purcell wrote significant music for a higher male voice that he called a "counter-tenor", for example, the roles of Secrecy and Summer in
The Fairy-Queen (1692). "These lines have often challenged modern singers, who have been unsure whether they are high tenor parts or are meant for falsettists". Contemporary vocal treatises, however, make clear that Purcell's singers would have been trained to blend both methods of vocal production. In Purcell's choral music the situation is further complicated by the occasional appearance of more than one solo part designated "countertenor", but with a considerable difference in range and
tessitura. Such is the case in
Hail, bright Cecilia (''The Ode on St Cecilia's Day 1692'') in which the solo, Tis Nature's Voice", has the range F3 to B4 (similar to those stage roles cited previously), whereas, in the duet, "Hark each tree", the countertenor soloist sings from E4 to D5 (in the trio "With that sublime celestial lay"). Later in the same work, Purcell's manuscript designates the same singer, Mr Howel, described as "a High Contra tenor" to perform in the range G3 to C4; it is very likely that he took some of the lowest notes in a well-blended "chest voice".
18th century "The Purcell counter-tenor 'tenor' did not flourish in England much beyond the early years of the [eighteenth] century; within twenty years of Purcell's death
Handel had settled in London and
opera seria, which was underpinned entirely by Italian singing, soon became entrenched in British theatres". Oberlin, however, harked back to the earlier tradition of countertenors using only their modal voices. Today, countertenors are much in demand in many forms of classical music. In opera, many roles originally written for castrati (castrated males) are now sung and recorded by countertenors, as are some
trouser roles originally written for female singers. The former category is much more numerous and includes Orfeo in
Gluck's and many Handel roles, such as the name parts in
Rinaldo, , and
Orlando, and Bertarido in
Rodelinda.
Mozart also had castrati roles in his operas, including Aminta in , Cecilio in , Ramiro in , Idamante in , and Sesto in . Many modern composers other than Britten have written, and continue to write, countertenor parts, both in choral works and opera, as well as songs and song-cycles for the voice. Men's choral groups such as
Chanticleer and
the King's Singers employ the voice to great effect in a variety of genres, including early music, gospel, and even folk songs. Other recent operatic parts written for the countertenor voice include Edgar in
Aribert Reimann's
Lear (1978), the messenger in his
Medea (2010), Prince Go-Go in
György Ligeti's
Le Grand Macabre (1978), the title role in
Philip Glass's
Akhnaten (1983), Claire in
John Lunn's
The Maids (1998), the Refugee in
Jonathan Dove's
Flight (1998), Trinculo in
Thomas Adès's
The Tempest (2004), the Boy in
George Benjamin's
Written on Skin (2012) and several others (see
Roles in opera below). == Vocal range ==