Tenor

The term tenor derives from the Latin word tenere, which means 'to hold'. Tenor came into use, at first, to denote the role of the critical male voice in the structure of a polyphonic vocal work. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, which often proceeded in longer note values and carried a borrowed cantus firmus melody. Until the late 16th-century introduction of the contratenor singers, the tenor was usually the lowest voice, assuming the role of providing a foundation. It was also in the 18th century that tenor came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. Thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked 'tenor' indicated the part's role, and not the required voice type; indeed, even as late as the eighteenth century, part-books labelled 'tenor' sometimes contained parts for a range of voice types. == Vocal range ==

staff (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C4). The numeral eight below the treble clef indicates that the pitches sound an octave lower than written: see Clef#Octave clefs. This is the standard clef for tenor parts in scores. The vocal range of the tenor is the highest of the male voice types. Within opera, the lowest note in the standard tenor repertoire is widely defined to be B2. However, the role of Rodrigo di Dhu (written for Andrea Nozzari) in Rossini's rarely performed La donna del lago is defined as a tenor but requires an A2. Within more frequently performed repertoire, Mime and Herod both call for an A2. A few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a "tenor C" (C5, one octave above middle C). Some, if not all, of the few top Cs in the standard operatic repertoire are either optional – such as in "Che gelida manina" in Puccini's La bohème – or interpolated (added) by tradition, such as in "Di quella pira" from Verdi's Il trovatore); however, the highest demanded note in the standard tenor operatic repertoire is D5, found in "Mes amis, écoutez l'histoire" from Adolphe Adam's Le postillon de Lonjumeau and "" from Fromental Halévy's La Juive). In the leggero repertoire, the highest note is F5 (Arturo in "Credeasi, misera" from Bellini's I puritani), therefore, very few tenors, a notable case being Nicolai Gedda, have this role in their repertoire without transposition (given the raising of concert pitch since its composition), or employing passaggio, such as Luciano Pavarotti. == In choral music ==

In SATB four-part mixed chorus, the tenor is the second lowest vocal range, above the bass and below the alto and soprano. Men's chorus usually denotes an ensemble of TTBB in which the first tenor is the highest voice. Whilst certain choral music does require the first tenors to ascend the full tenor range, the majority of choral music places the tenors in the range from approximately B2 up to A4. The requirements of the tenor voice in choral music are also tied to the style of music most often performed by a given choir. Orchestral choruses typically call for tenors with fully resonant voices, but chamber or a cappella choral music (choral music sung with no instrumental accompaniment) can rely on baritones singing in falsetto. Even so, one nearly ubiquitous facet of choral singing is the shortage of tenor voices. Most men's tessituras lie within the baritone range, and because of this, many men in choirs tend to prefer singing in the bass section (though true basses are even rarer than tenors). Many baritones sing tenor even if they are not able to cover the full range in only their chest voice, and sometimes contraltos sing the tenor part. In men's choruses that consist of four male vocal parts (TTBB; tenor 1, tenor 2, bass 1, bass 2), tenors will often sing both in chest voice and falsetto, extending the vocal range of the choir. == Subtypes and roles in opera ==

Within the tenor voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories: leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, and tenor buffo or spieltenor. There is considerable overlap between the various categories of role and of voice-type; some tenor singers have begun with lyric voices but have transformed with time into spinto or even dramatic tenors. Leggero Also known as the tenore di grazia, the leggero tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a lyric coloratura. This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of fioritura. The typical leggero tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C3 to E5, with a few being able to sing up to F5 or higher in full voice. In some cases, the chest register of the leggero tenor may extend below C3. Voices of this type are utilized frequently in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and in music dating from the Baroque period. Leggero tenor roles in operas: tenor. He was the first tenor to sing on stage the operatic high C from the chest (ut de poitrine) as opposed to using falsettone. He is also known for originating the role of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor. Lyric tenor roles in operas: • Mitridate, Mitridate, re di Ponto (Mozart) • Oronte, I Lombardi alla prima crociata (Verdi) • Paris, La belle Hélène (Offenbach) • Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly (Puccini) • Rinuccio, Gianni Schicchi (Puccini) • Rodolfo, La bohème (Puccini) • Roméo, Roméo et Juliette (Gounod) • Tamino, The Magic Flute (Mozart) • Thaddeus, The Bohemian Girl (Balfe) • Tito, La clemenza di Tito (Mozart) • Werther, Werther (Massenet) • Wilhelm Meister, Mignon (Thomas) Spinto The spinto tenor has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes with less strain than the lighter-voice counterparts. Spinto tenors have a darker timbre than a lyric tenor, without having a vocal color as dark as many dramatic tenors. The German equivalent of the Spinto Fach is the ' and encompasses many of the Dramatic tenor roles as well as some Wagner roles such as Lohengrin and Stolzing. The difference is often the depth and metal in the voice where some lyric tenors age or push their way into singing as a Spinto giving them a lighter tone and a ' tends to be either a young heldentenor or true lyric spinto. Spinto tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5). Spinto tenor roles in operas: The tessitura of these parts ranges from lower than other tenor roles to very high and broad. These parts are often played by younger tenors who have not yet reached their full vocal potential or older tenors who are beyond their prime singing years. Only rarely will a singer specialize in these roles for an entire career. Tenor buffo or spieltenor roles in operas: • Count Danilo Danilovitsch, The Merry Widow (Lehár) • Don Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) • Mime, Der Ring des Nibelungen (Wagner) • Don Anchise/ Il Podestà, La finta giardiniera (Mozart) • Monostatos, The Magic Flute (Mozart) • Pedrillo, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart) • Slender, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Nicolai) • John Styx, Orpheus in the Underworld (Offenbach) • Prince Paul, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (Offenbach) • Kálmán Zsupán, The Gypsy Baron (Johann Strauss II) • The Captain, Wozzeck (Berg) • The Magician, The Consul (Menotti) • Beppe, Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) • Frantz, The Tales of Hoffmann (Offenbach) • Spoletta, Tosca (Puccini) • Goro, Madama Butterfly (Puccini) • Pong, Turandot (Puccini) • Gastone, La traviata (Verdi) • Roderigo, Otello (Verdi) • Dr. Caius, Falstaff (Verdi) • Gherardo, Gianni Schicchi (Puccini) • King Kaspar, Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti) • Triquet, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky) • The Holy Fool, Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky) • Pasquale, Orlando paladino (Haydn) • Platon Kuzmich Kovalev, The Nose (Shostakovich) == Other uses ==

There are four parts in barbershop harmony: bass, baritone, lead, and tenor (lowest to highest), with "tenor" referring to the highest part. The tenor generally sings in falsetto voice, corresponding roughly to the countertenor in classical music, and harmonizes above the lead, who sings the melody. The barbershop tenor range is Middle C to A one octave above Middle C, though it is written an octave higher. The "lead" in barbershop music is equivalent to the normal tenor range. In bluegrass music, the melody line is called the lead. Tenor is sung an interval of a third above the lead. Baritone is the fifth of the scale that has the lead as a tonic, and may be sung below the lead, or even above the lead (and the tenor), in which case it is called "high baritone". ==See also==