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In singing, a tenor is a male singer with a high vocal range.
The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word tenere, which means "to hold". In medieval and Renaissance polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the tenor was the structurally fundamental (or ‘holding’) voice, vocal or instrumental. 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 15th-century introduction of the contratenor bassus, the tenor was usually the lowest voice, assuming the role of providing a harmonic foundation. It was also in the 15th 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 seventeenth century, partbooks labelled 'tenor' might contain parts for a range of voice types.
Due to the lyrical tone quality as well as the dramatic high notes, composers have given tenors some of the best-known melodies and arias in the operatic literature, which have then spilled out as well into popular culture (e.g., The Three Tenors). Also important to the operatic tenor is its common association with youth, vigor, and romance.
Operatic tenor lead roles have thus tended to parallel the soprano roles, in that they customarily play the most sympathetic male character. They are usually the protagonist, and most commonly the hero or the lover, though they are also the occasional villains (the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto; Lieutenant Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly).
A professional operatic tenor typically has a range extending up to the C above middle C (C5), which is often called the "high C". A solid, chest voice "high C" (as opposed to that in falsetto) is often said to be a requisite for a "true" operatic tenor. This is disputed, however, as it has been suggested that even some well-known tenors do not have (or retain) this coveted ability. This is evident from the fact that many tenor roles in opera do not require the "high C." One unique aria, however, is the aria "Credeasi Misera" from Vincenzo Bellini's opera "I Puritani", which requires the tenor playing the role of Arturo to ascend to the high F. This role is for a tenore leggiero - light lyric tenor - who does not carry the chest voice into the higher register and thus produces a brighter yet less powerful sound than a dramatic tenor. In opera, several different fachs are recognized among tenors, including the comic, lyric, spinto, dramatic, and heldentenor, ordered from lightest to heaviest in tone quality. It should be noted that these fachs are primarily classified by tone quality and not vocal range.
Famous operatic tenors from various countries include Alfredo Kraus (Spain), Carlo Bergonzi (Italy), Beniamino Gigli (Italy), Georges Thill (France), Jussi Björling (Sweden), Nicolai Gedda (Sweden), José Carreras (Spain), Enrico Caruso (Italy), Plácido Domingo (Spain), Jon Vickers (Canada), Jan Peerce (USA), Richard Tucker (USA), Franco Corelli (Italy), Lauritz Melchior (Denmark), Fritz Wunderlich (Germany), Luciano Pavarotti (Italy), Juan Diego Florez (Peru), David Hobson (Australia), Mario Del Monaco (Italy), Mario Lanza (USA}, Jan Kiepura (Poland), Giuseppe di Stefano (Italy), and Rolando Villazon (Mexico).
In four-part choral music, the tenor is the second lowest voice, above the bass and below the soprano and alto. The range of the choral tenor is generally not as great as that in opera, however. While 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 G4. The requirements of the tenor voice in choral music is also tied to the style of music most often performed by a given choir. Orchestra choruses require tenors with fully resonant voices, but chamber or a cappella style choral music can quite successfully rely on light baritones singing in the falsetto.
Even so, one nearly ubiquitous facet of choral singing is the shortage of tenor voices. Because the higher tenor range is quite unusual in adult males, and many composers label a part in the lower Alto range as "Tenor," the majority of men tend to prefer singing bass or baritone. For this reason, some men are often asked to sing tenor even if they lack the full range, while rarely low altos are even asked to sing the tenor part as well.
Although vocal range is the primary characteristic which defines a tenor, it is not the only. A tenor is ultimately classified by several vocal traits, including range, tone quality, vocal lift points, and transition points ("passaggio") within the singer's range. It is generally recognized that the average transitional area, or passaggio, of the tenor begins with a lift around middle C or C# and ends with a lift at F or F# above that (Alderson 1979). In non-professional choirs, individuals will generally be classified based on their most resonant and comfortable tessitura.
In the Barbershop harmony musical style, the name "tenor" is used for the highest part. The four parts are known (lowest to highest) as bass, baritone, lead, and tenor. The tenor generally sings in falsetto voice (thus the term tenor used in barbershop terminology most closely corresponds to the term countertenor as used in classical music), and harmonizes above the lead, who sings the melody. The barbershop tenor range is, as notated, Bb-below-middle C to D-above-high-C (and sung an octave lower).
It is often applied to instruments to indicate their range in relation to other instruments of the same group. For instance the tenor saxophone.
In opera, distinctions are made between different types of tenor:
All of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas have at least one lead tenor character, and they are not listed in this list, except for Capt. Fitzbattleaxe, who sings an Act II song about being a tenor.
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