Abass is a type ofclassical malesingingvoice and has the lowestvocal range of allvoice types. According toThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E belowmiddle C to the E above middle C (i.e.,E2–E4).[1][2] Itstessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of thebass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system.
Italians favour subdividing basses into thebasso cantante (singing bass),basso buffo (comical bass), or the dramaticbasso profondo (deep bass). The American system[3] identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass.
The GermanFach system[4] offers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classifications tend to describe roles rather than singers: it is rare for a performer to stay within a singleFach.
Cultural influence and individual variation create a wide variation in range and quality of bass singers. Parts for basses have included notes as low as theB-flat two octaves and a tone below middle C (B♭1), for example inGustav Mahler'sSymphony No. 2 andRachmaninov'sAll-Night Vigil,A below that inFrederik Magle'ssymphonic suiteCantabile,G below that (e.g. Measure 76 ofNe otverzhi mene byPavel Chesnokov) orF below those inKheruvimskaya pesn (Song of Cherubim) byKrzysztof Penderecki. Manybasso profondos have trouble reaching those notes, and the use of them in works by Slavic composers has led to the colloquial term "Russian bass" for an exceptionally deep-ranged basso profondo who can easily sing these notes. Some traditional Russian religious music calls for A2 (110Hz) drone singing, which is doubled by A1 (55 Hz) in the rare occasion that a choir includes singers who can produce this very low human voice pitch.
Many British composers such asBenjamin Britten have written parts for bass (such as the first movement of his choral workRejoice in the Lamb) that center far higher than the basstessitura as implied by the clef.[1] TheHarvard Dictionary of Music defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C (i.e. E2–C4).[5]
InSATB four-part mixed chorus, the bass is the lowest vocal range, below thetenor,alto, andsoprano. Voices are subdivided into first bass and second bass with no distinction being made between bass andbaritone voices, in contrast to the three-fold (tenor–baritone–bass) categorization of solo voices. The exception is in arrangements for male choir (TTBB) andbarbershop quartets (TLBB), which sometimes label the lowest two parts baritone and bass.
Bass vocal range (E2–E4) notated on thebassstaff (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C4)
Bass has the lowestvocal range of allvoice types, with the lowesttessitura. The low extreme for basses is generally C2 (two Cs below middle C). Some extreme bass singers, referred to asbasso profondos andoktavists, are able to reach much lower than this. Withinopera, the lowest note in the standard bass repertoire is D2, sung by the character Osmin in Mozart'sDie Entführung aus dem Serail, but few roles fall below F2.
Although Osmin's note is the lowest 'demanded' in the operatic repertoire, lower notes are heard, both written and unwritten: for example, it is traditional for basses to interpolate a low C in the duet "Ich gehe doch rathe ich dir" in the same opera; in Richard Strauss'Der Rosenkavalier, Baron Ochs has an optional C2 ("Mein lieber Hippolyte"). The high extreme: a few bass roles in the standard repertoire call for a high F♯ or G (F♯4 and G4, the one above middle C), but few roles go over F4. In the operatic bass repertoire, the highest notes are a G♯4 (The Barber inThe Nose by Shostakovich) and, in the aria "Fra l'ombre e gl'orrori" in Handel'sserenataAci, Galatea e Polifemo, Polifemo reaches an A4.
Within the bass voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories:basso cantante (singing bass),hoher bass (high bass),jugendlicher bass (juvenile bass),basso buffo ("funny" bass),Schwerer Spielbass (dramatic bass), lyric bass, and dramaticbasso profondo (low bass).[6]
Basso cantante/lyric high bass/lyric bass-baritone
Basso cantante means "singing bass".[2]Basso cantante is a higher, more lyrical voice. It is produced using a more Italianate vocal production, and possesses a faster vibrato, than its closest Germanic/Anglo-Saxon equivalent, thebass-baritone.[citation needed]
Buffo, literally "funny", basses are lyrical roles that demand from their practitioners a solid coloratura technique, a capacity forpatter singing and ripe tonal qualities if they are to be brought off to maximum effect. They are usually the blustering antagonist of the hero/heroine or the comic-relief fool inbel canto operas.
Basso profondo (lyric low bass) is the lowest bass voice type. According toJ. B. Steane inVoices, Singers & Critics, the basso profondo voice "derives from a method of tone-production that eliminates the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a wall-like front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato, the slow beat or dreaded wobble."
