Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

This article first appeared in TheCountertenorVoice.com on April 12th, 2011. Read the full article here

Is countertenor technique different from standard classical vocal technique? Should a countertenor train like a male or female voice, and what pedagogical approach and conceptual model best elicits a healthy countertenor sound? Is a countertenor merely the intersection of gender and tessitura, or is there something specific to the technical approach and musical context that limits the definition?

Much of the language of our vocal pedagogy comes from the time before invasive scientific tools. It was as recently as 1854 that Manuel Garcia first viewed the vocal folds (his own, actually) in action with the use of a dentist’s mirror. By that point, words like chest, head, mixed voice, and falsetto (terms generally based on the location of the sensation of sympathetic vibrations) were so ingrained in the minds of 19th century voice teachers that the new information revealed by this direct scientific observation was made to conform to that basic conceptual system. However, success as a countertenor is no more or less physiologically likely than for any other voice-type, provided we have conceptual models that encourage singers to believe that it is possible…

Read more…

The reviews are in

We have had three excellent reviews so far for Orchestra London's production of Handel's Giulio Cesare. Click each link to read the full article.

"Giulio Cesare brings two of the world’s leading counter tenors – Drew Minter (Cesare) and Ian Howell (Tolomeo) – to the stage. Both handled the intricacies of Handel’s vocal writing with marvelous finesse."
- Nicole Laidler - Beatmagazine.ca

"Arriving from opera’s international stages are American early music star and Grammy-winning countertenor Ian Howell who is remarkable as Tolomeo, Cleopatra’s fanatical, theocratic brother, and Dutch mezzo Rosanne van Sandwijk as Sesto."
- James Reaney - The London Free Press

"Ian Howell's portrayal of Tolomeo was chilling. And he has a beautiful voice. His final aria was heart-rending and also served as a reminder that his character too, was vulnerable."
- Brian Hay - norules-nolights.com

New Video - J.C. Bach "Ach daß ich Wassers gnug hätte" (Lamento) with Chatham Baroque

This is one of my favorite pieces in the baroque repertory. Written by Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703), this lament beautifully captures the German sense of intensely internalized personal piety. "Oh, that I had enough tears in my head to bewail my sins..." That sort of thing :-).
With Chatham Baroque, an amazing small ensemble based in Pittsburgh, PA. Recorded February 21st, 2010.



Translation:
Oh, that I had water enough in my head
And that my eyes were springs of tears,
So that I could bewail my sin night and day.

My sin overwhelms me.
Like a weighty burden,
it has become too much more me,
So I weep, and mine eyes flow with tears.
My sighing is great, and my heart is sad,
for the Lord has filled me with grief
In the day of his wrath.

A poem for the unexpected Spring day that makes me wonder if Winter happened at all

Life is just the total sum of all the time we've spent
We pay our rent and eat our food and now and then help someone move
The day to day flies quick away and leaves a doubt that time is real
For though we all can see what changes here right now is all I feel.

~Ian Howell c. 1996

California Chronicle | Musica Angelica to present Bach's St. John Passion

Here's a nice little preview of my upcoming St. John Passions: California Chronicle | Musica Angelica to present Bach's St. John Passion

SANTA MONICA, Calif. Although the son of J.S. Bach claimed that his father composed five Passions during his lifetime, evidence for only two – the St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion – is documented. Music lovers will have a chance to hear the earlier work, described as "Bach´s most vivid and thrilling work" by the Gwent Bach Society, when the renowned baroque orchestra Musica Angelica presents the St. John Passion on Saturday, March 27 at 8 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Pasadena and Sunday, March 28 at 4 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica..... more

Best Marketing Idea Ever...

How can something seem so silly and be so brilliant at the same time. Chanticleer will sell 1,000,000 copies, I predict.



Buy the DVD.

Mourn, Day is with Darkness Fled - John Dowland Lute Song... Recent Videos

A lute song by John Dowland (1563-1626). This is from Dowland's second book of Ayres, a collection that also contains his song, "Flow my Tears". The text describes a pseudo-apocalyptic scenario in which day is overcome by night, hell has taken over heaven, and evil mists are choking off our joys. Heavy stuff for a lute song!

Text:
Mourn, mourn, day is with darkness fled,
What heav'n then governs Earth?
Oh, none but hell in heaven's stead
Chokes with his mists our mirth.

Mourn, mourn, look now for no more day
Nor night, but that from hell.
Then all must, as they may,
In darkness learn to dwell.

But yet this change needs must change our delight.
That thus the Sun should harbor with the night.

Ian Howell - Countertenor
Karl Wohlwend - Guitar

Recorded live at the Merit Music School in Chicago, IL.
Thanks to the Ravinia Festival for arranging this lecture demonstration.
Audio and video recorded with a Flip HD video camera, edited in iMovie.

Laudate Dominum - C.M. Cozzolani... Recent Videos

Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, a benedictine nun in the Italian city of Milan, published this cantata for solo voice and two violins in 1648.

Tableau Baroque:

Ian Howell - Coutertenor
Adam Lamotte & Tekla Cunningham - Violins
William Skeen - Viola da Gamba
Henry Lebedinsky - Harpsichord

Text:

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people.
For confirmed upon us is his mercy.
And the truth of the Lord remains forever.
Glory to the Father, glory to the Son
And glory to the holy spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
And always shall be.
Unto ages of ages.
So be it.

Recorded 15 August 2009 at the Whidbey Island Music Festival.

http://www.whidbeyislandmusicfestival...

For more information about Ian Howell and Tableau Baroque.
http://www.ianhowellcountertenor.com
http://www.tableaubaroque.org

Holy Messiah Source Material... Recent Videos

One of Handel's Italian duets, originally for two sopranos, re-scored for alto and violin obligato. The two arias in this cantata served as the source material for Handel's choruses "His yoke is easy" and "And he shall purify" from his oratorio, "Messiah."

Ian Howell - Countertenor
Tekla Cunningham - Violin
William Skeen - Cello
Henry Lebedinsky - Harpsichord

Text:

The flower that laughs at dawn
later will be killed by the Sun
and has its tomb in the evening.

Life is a flower
it is destroyed at dawn
and in one single day loses its springtime.

Recorded 14 August 2009 at the Whidbey Island Music Festival.

http://www.whidbeyislandmusicfestival...

For more information about Ian Howell and Tableau Baroque.
http://www.ianhowellcountertenor.com
http://www.tableaubaroque.org

This video was recorded with a FlipHD camera (that didn't like the intensity of the stage lights).
Audio was recorded with a matched pair of Avenson ST0-2 omni-directional microphones.

Check one off the list

So... in the way-back-time, before Yale, before Chanticleer, back when I was trying to decide if I had a future as a singer at all (and I was making most of my money wearing a hawaiian shirt and playing steel drum in central Ohio), I would make study CDs of my favorite singers (I had a super fancy 2x SCSI external CD burner).  When I was learning Cacinni lute songs, the singer I studied was Julianne Baird.  In 1999/2000, her recording of the Cacinni's song Dolcissimo Sospriro was the the template for both my pre-audition recording and subsequent successful audition performance of that piece for Chanticleer.

And now I'm singing the alto solos to her second soprano solos on a Bach B-minor Mass in Philadelphia.  

Ain't life grand and full of fun connections?  They say that the music world keeps getting smaller; the trick is to stay in the music world.

:-)

"1685 & the Art of Ian Howell" CD Release

1685 & the Art of Ian Howell

My debut solo CD with the American Bach Soloists has been released!

The CD may be ordered through the American Bach Soloists website or purchased at any of my upcoming concerts.  It will be available on iTunes in the coming months.

Click here to order and listen to online samples.

From the ABS website:

March 23, 2009

    ABS's newest recording was released on Bach's birthday, March 21st, 2009.

    1685 & The Art of Ian Howell features ABS International Young Artists Competition winner, Ian Howell, in works by three composers born in 1685: J.S. Bach, Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti.

    Ian Howell was the featured soloist in our subscription concerts in April of last year. During the following week, he and the ABS musicians recorded this newest addition to the American Bach Soloists' discography. One of Bach's greatest solo cantatas, Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust!, is paired with Scarlatti's exquisite Salve Regina. A selection of arias from Handel's oratorios and operas - including Saul, Giulio Cesare, Orlando, Rinaldo, and Serse - completes the 72 minute disc.

    Mr. Howell, Maestro Thomas, and recording producer Chris Landen spent Bach's birthday in the studio, putting the finishing touches on this beautiful compilation.

Rehearsals, Day 1

posted by Henry Lebedinsky

17 February 2009

2:00 a.m.

Scenic Hartford, Connecticut. My home town, I guess. I miss New England in winter. Down home in NC, the trees are flowering, the crocuses are blooming (and being eaten by my chickens) and it's pushing 60 degrees every day. Up here, it's in the 20s. Bracing, wonderful cold.

Tableau is rehearsing at Asylum Hill Congregational Church on Asylum Ave. in Hartford. The recession is hitting the area hard. It makes me sad to see the empty buildings and general urban malaise. We're in for it, it seems. Inside, we escape from it all with our music. Ian and Michael met for the first time, and sang beautifully together. 

A German baroque cantata by Johann Schelle and Italian duets by Steffani and Handel were on the menu, with extra virgin olive oil, freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, and prosciutto. Handel's 'Quel fior ch'al alba ride' was the source material for the Messiah chorus 'His yoke is easy.' The music makes much more sense with the Italian words, especially the rippling, jovial melisma on the word 'ride' (laughs) 

Perhaps a nice chianti?

I'll take Guinness.

The famous House of Nanking

When I first moved to San Francisco in 2000, I lived at a weekly hotel in Chinatown while I looked for a place to live.  The first nice restaurant we went to (to congratulate ourselves on our fine Chinatown digs, I guess?) was the House of Nanking (on Kearny between Jackson and Columbus).  

It was a small affair at the time.  If you managed a seat at one of the six or so tables, the owner would greet you, ask what sort of food you were interested in, and order for you.  

Well... seven years later they have expanded!  Over dinner break yesterday (between rehearsal and our performance of Messiah at Grace Cathedral), a few of my colleagues and I headed over to the House of Nanking.  (Thank you Blackberry for the navigation.)  

The restaurant has expanded to include the next-door space.  Gone was the long line (although it was 5 PM), and the over-eagerness of the owner.  

The food was excellent!  Of interest was this green tea concoction that they brought.  The tea-tritus is a mixture of tea leaves, edible flower buds, and some sort of berry.  And a bunch or completely inedible stems :-).  

After the owner took our order, I asked him how we were supposed to drink it?  

"Just sip it" was his response...  

We ended up straining it with our teeth.  

I would recommend the food to anyone visiting China town!

The purfuit of...

Waiting in JFK's mighty terminal 8 for my San Francisco bound flight (taking me to my American Bach Soloists Messiahs), I smile at the name of these little arcade areas.

It reminds me of the 'free speech zones' at the 2004 RNC, as though the entire country weren't already zoned for that. Ok, less ominous to be sure, and Jefferson's promise of the pursuit of happiness isn't exactly a guarantee of fun... and perhaps it is a fair indictment of how 'un-fun' the rest of the airport can be. Ok, never mind :-)

Sent from my not quite iPhone.

Christmas comes late this year...

Hello everyone. I just learned that the release date of my American Bach Soloists CD has officially been pushed back to April of 2009. *sighs* These things always take five times longer to assemble than you'd hope! I'll keep everyone posted as the process moves forward. The best way to keep informed is through my e-mailing list (no spam, and at most one email per month) you can sign up here.
I intend to offer a pre-release pre-order deal, so keep your interweb eyes peeled.

The Passing of Lynne Vardaman

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my technique teacher, Lynne Vardaman. She died in her New York apartment early last week.

The effect that she had upon my voice cannot be underestimated. I would not the the singer, teacher, thinker, or person that I am had it not been for my three years of private study with Lynne.

She was not always peaceful in her life; I hope that she has found peace in her death.

2008-2009 Season

I am pleased to annouce my 2008-09 season.
I will make debuts with several groups, including:


The Vancouver Chamber Choir (Chichester Psalms),
The Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia (B-Minor Mass), and

The Staunton Music Festival (Theodora).

I return to sing with:

The Choir of Men and Boys of Saint Thomas
Fifth Ave (Messiah),
The Princeton Glee Club (B-minor),
and one of my favorite groups, The American Bach soloists
(Messiah, Pergolesi Stabat Mater & Handel Italian Duets with soprano Mary Wilson).


I also launch my first tour with the Baroque ensemble Tableau in February-March of 2009.


And don't forget, my CD with the American Bach Soloists (see story below) will be released in December! Check back for more info,
or
join my mailing list to receive a notice.

Handel's Inheritance/Tableau Web-launch

Iconic composers are not born great; they are the synthesis of everything they have heard,
learned, and experienced and their music is a reflection of their world as they knew it.
Thus it was for George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), a composer best known for the Italian
Operas and English Oratorios that comprised the bulk of his mature output. But what about
young Handel? What music would have been playing in the courts and chapels of his youth?
What about the music of his teachers? What innovations did Handel borrow, and what new
musical ideas did he unleash upon the world?



Join me and Tableau Baroque in the Spring of 2009 for a concert exploring
the sonic landscape of Handel's formative years.  



We are proud to launch a new website
promoting these concerts.

Debut Solo CD recorded with The American Bach Soloists

I joined conductor Jeffrey Thomas and The American Bach Soloists April 23rd-26th
to record a CD of beautiful baroque music. Repertory includes:
Bach's Cantata 170 Vergn&252;gte Ruh, Domenico Scarlatti's Cantata Salve Regina, and Handel opera and oratorio arias from
Saul (O Lord whose mercies numberless), Giulio Cesare (Al lampo dell'armi), Orlando (Fammi combattere & Orlando's Mad Scene),
Rinaldo (Cara sposa), and Serse (Ombra mai fu). We are planning on a December release.
The CD, "1685 and the Art of Ian Howell," will be available for purchase online and in stores, and available for download from iTunes and Magnamusic. Stay tuned for more information.

Premiere of Songs by Pablo Ortiz

I premiered a set of three songs written by Argentinian born composer

Pablo Ortiz, during a concert at UC Davis in Davis, CA. Russ Irwin commissioned these pieces for me
to texts by the Mexican poet Rosario Castellanos. Listen to a live recording of the second movement,
Elegia, by clicking here.