Altus

What it means

Altus denotes a high male voice that sings in the range of the alto. This range is reached predominantly with the head voice — that is, with the register colloquially called falsetto; many singers join it with the chest voice in the low range. The designations countertenor and, in older usage, contratenor are also current. The voice type is no new invention: in the church music of earlier centuries alto parts were regularly sung by men.

Musical use

A large part of the repertoire comes from the Renaissance and Baroque: alto parts in sacred music, solo cantatas and numerous operatic roles originally written for high male voices. Since the revival of early music in the twentieth century the altus is again firmly established and has moreover received new repertoire. In sound it differs from female voices of the same range through different overtone proportions and an often leaner, clearer colour; in the choir this yields a mixture of its own. From the voice type of the castrato, for which many Baroque operas are written, the altus is to be distinguished historically and in sound.

Performance practice

Watch for a freely flowing breath and avoid pressure, because the head voice reacts sensitively to forcing and then sounds pinched. Practise the transition between the registers in a targeted way: the place where chest and head voice pass into each other decides the carrying power of the low range. Work at an even tone colour across the whole range, so that the voice does not fall apart into two areas. Choose repertoire that suits your own range, instead of taking on parts modelled on others; the ranges differ greatly. Warm the voice up thoroughly and without exertion.

Watch also the treatment of the text: in the head voice clarity is lost more easily than in the chest voice, which is why consonants must be formed more actively, without interrupting the tone. For Baroque repertoire, study of ornamentation practice is worthwhile, since much is not written out and belongs to the shaping. With parts originally written for other voice types, check whether a transposition makes sense, and clarify it with the ensemble. In long works plan phases of recovery, because this register loses carrying power quickly when tired.