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Real Texas boys don't sing soprano
Toronto Star
Here it is, the new definition of gender, coming to you oh-so-straight from Texas: Real boys don't sing soprano.
Boys cannot audition for soprano or alto roles in that state's All-State Choir. Girls cannot audition for tenor or bass. No matter where their talents lie.
As a result, 17-year-old Mikhael Rawls, who already has won awards for his countertenor — the male parallel to soprano — can't try out in the part where he excels.
That rule was made by the Texas Music Educators Association. You would think music teachers would know that countertenors such as Mikhael are a widely respected part of classical music and tradition.
But then, Texas educators can be a touchy lot on gender issues. In its eagerness to keep middle-schoolers from thinking gay marriage might be okay, that state's board of education required textbooks to define marriage as the "lifelong union between a husband and wife." Apparently, the close to 50 per cent of Texas marriages that end in divorce don't count.
It's true that a shameful aspect haunts the history of high-pitched male singers — not on the part of the singers, though. In 17th- and 18th-century Italy, when women were not permitted on stage, the soprano voice would be provided by a castrato, a male castrated in boyhood so his voice would not deepen. The movie Farinelli was based on the life of one of the most famous of these. Farinelli — his real name was Carlo Broschi — died in 1782. Time for Texas music teachers to get over it.
The organization says the rules prevent youngsters from damaging their voices by singing out of their appropriate ranges. They are right that kids should sing in their natural voices. For some girls, that's tenor, and for some boys, alto; for a few boys like Mikhael, it includes the high notes. He has been singing soprano parts as the only boy in his high school's a cappella choir. Boys will indeed be boys — soprano or bass.
We hope Mikhael goes on to success as a countertenor — and honours his open-minded high school by helping other young singers.
His family has been contacted by lawyers eager to file a discrimination suit. Here's the stranger part of the tale: His mother has declined, saying she doesn't think lawsuits are the right way to handle every disagreement.
To which we can say only: Bravo!
Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited
(\\__/) And if you don't believe The sun will rise
(='.'=) Stand alone and greet The coming night
(")_(") In the last remaining light. (C. Cornell)
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13800
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Does this mean that an unbroken voice is not allowed to sing the Treble part? Or is "Soprano" somehow different from "Treble"?
And what of the Vienna Boys' Choir?
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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timmy wrote:
>And what of the Vienna Boys' Choir?<
Well, they are in Austria and not in Texas.
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13800
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Well yes. But surely they are an example to Texas that... Oh no, wait. Texas. Ok I understand now.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Soprano and treble are approximately equivalent in terms of range.
Trebles are boys with unbroken voices.
Sopranos are women.
Sometimes people refer to trebles as sopranos ("boy sopranos") but technically this is wrong, as the sound is different. But as boys can sing music written for sopranos, it is understandable.
A countertenor is something completely different, however:
A countertenor is a man with broken voice who can sing the alto part.
An alto is a woman (usually, though again you can sometimes refer to a countertenor as an alto, especially if they are singing as part of the alto section.)
The countertenor voice is usually falsetto, and it is quite distinct from either a woman's or a boy's. I used to sing countenor in my school's choir (falsetto), but can also sing baritone if required (using my normal voice). It has nothing to do with a boy's unbroken voice.
It sounds to me like the school authorities are just ignorant of the fact that it is technically possible for a man to sing in the alto range. Or they do realise that, but are pig-headedly sticking to some guidelines written by a beaurocrat who has no idea about music that say "men sing tenor and bass; women sing alto and soprano". It doesn't help that the article-writer seems to be a bit confused, too.
David
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13800
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::-) Pedant (comment)  )
You know I tend to leave typos! Everywhere!
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Re: Some technical corrections 
