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Categorisation by sex

Posted: 07 Nov 2010 23:36
by Jonathang
Can I suggest creating categories for choral works which were clearly intended to be sung originally either by male or by female voices? The latter category seems quite rare - an obvious example is "Nous voyons que les hommes" by Arcadelt. Less obviously there is "Al subir para el empĂ­reo" by Torres where it seems unlikely that the "tenor" was intended to be sung by a mature male voice.

Jonathan

Re: Categorisation by sex

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 18:02
by anaigeon
I'm afraid that in many cases any statement about this would be speculative ; after all, even the text isn't, definetely, an indication (for example, in the baroque period, female characters have been played and sung by men). Just my cent, I'll be interested in expert opinions.

Re: Categorisation by sex

Posted: 13 Nov 2010 08:11
by Jonathang
I agree that it is often difficult to know whether, for instance, a soprano or alto part in a choral work was intended to be sung by male or female voices, so that this categorisation should be used with caution. That said, there are cases where the intention is clear and since choral works from the baroque and earlier periods aimed at exclusively female voices are rare it seems to me to be worth tagging them when they can be found.