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To: xsmommy
oh i guess the eunuch was a tenor.
295 posted on 07/14/2003 10:09:23 AM PDT by xsmommy
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To: xsmommy
Eunuch, hah! There are countertenors, who sing REALLY high, sounding falsetto-ish (not always pleasant, but some are damn good). Of course, there were castrati: in some places in Italy they used occasionally to castrate, not necessarily with permission, young boys with great voices: when they grew up, if the voice stayed good, they produced a high voice with an unusual power and beauty. A lot of music was written specially for specific castrati. Unfortunately, more often than not the great singing voice vanished as they grew up, leaving the kid unable to have children for no reason. The last castrato (I forget his name) made a recording (which I've never heard) in about 1898 or 1904 or something when he was about 80 and his voice was pretty much shot. But I've read that his voice did retain a rather haunting quality, despite the old age.
320 posted on 07/14/2003 10:31:53 AM PDT by Argh
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