Bass (voice type)

{{Short description|Type of classical male singing voice}} {{About|the male voice type||Bass (disambiguation){{!}}Bass}} {{More citations needed|date=February 2008}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Voice type}} A '''bass''' is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E₂–E₄).<!-- This is a statement of what the reference says: please do not edit without supplying a new reference! --><ref name=Grove1>{{cite Grove|title=Bass (Fr. ''basse''; Ger. ''Bass''; It. ''basso'')|date=2002|id=O900455|author1=Owen Jander|author2=Lionel Sawkins|author3=J. B. Steane|author3-link=J. B. Steane|author4=Elizabeth Forbes|author4-link=Elizabeth Forbes (musicologist)|quote=E₂–E₄/F₄}}</ref><ref name=BBC /> Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system.

Italians favour subdividing basses into the ''basso cantante'' (singing bass), ''basso buffo'' (comical bass), or the dramatic ''basso profondo'' (deep bass). The American system<ref>Boldrey, Richard (1994) Guide to Operatic Roles & Arias, Redmond: PST... Inc.</ref> identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass.

The German ''Fach'' system<ref>Kloiber, Rudolf et al., (2007) Handbuch der Oper, 12th edition, Munich: Bärenreiter</ref> offers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classifications tend to describe roles rather than singers: it is rare for a performer to stay within a single ''Fach''.

== History == Cultural influence and individual variation create a wide variation in range and quality of bass singers. Parts for basses have included notes as low as the B-flat two octaves and a tone below middle C (B{{Music|b}}₁), for example in Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 and Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil, A below that in Frederik Magle's symphonic suite ''Cantabile'', G below that (e.g. Measure 76 of ''Ne otverzhi mene'' by Pavel Chesnokov) or F below those in ''Kheruvimskaya pesn (Song of Cherubim)'' by Krzysztof Penderecki. Many basso profondos have trouble reaching those notes, and the use of them in works by Slavic composers has led to the colloquial term "Russian bass" for an exceptionally deep-ranged basso profondo who can easily sing these notes. Some traditional Russian religious music calls for A₂ (110 Hz) drone singing, which is doubled by A₁ (55&nbsp;Hz) in the rare occasion that a choir includes singers who can produce this very low human voice pitch.

Many British composers such as Benjamin Britten have written parts for bass (such as the first movement of his choral work ''Rejoice in the Lamb'') that center far higher than the bass tessitura as implied by the clef.<!--Note: Do not change that to your own opinion unless you have a decent source which you CITE, and do not change the information whilst leaving it still pointing to the old citation--><ref name=Grove1 /> The ''Harvard Dictionary of Music'' defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C (i.e. E₂–C₄).<ref>[http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/vocalrg.htm Ranges Guide], Yale University Music Library, taken from the ''Harvard Dictionary of Music'' {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827072425/http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/vocalrg.htm |date=27 August 2013}}</ref>

== In choral music == In SATB four-part mixed chorus, the bass is the lowest vocal range, below the tenor, alto, and soprano. Voices are subdivided into first bass and second bass with no distinction being made between bass and baritone voices, in contrast to the three-fold (tenor–baritone–bass) categorization of solo voices. The exception is in arrangements for male choir (TTBB) and barbershop quartets (TLBB), which sometimes label the lowest two parts baritone and bass.

== Range and subtypes == [[File:Bass voice range on keyboard.svg|thumb|400px|Bass vocal range (E₂–E₄) notated on the bass staff (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C₄)]] {| align=right |<score>{ \new Staff \with { \remove "Time_signature_engraver" } \clef bass e,4 e'4 }</score> |} Bass has the lowest vocal range of all voice types, with the lowest tessitura. The low extreme for basses is generally C₂ (two Cs below middle C). Some extreme bass singers, referred to as basso profondos and oktavists, are able to reach much lower than this. Within opera, the lowest note in the standard bass repertoire is D₂, sung by the character Osmin in Mozart's ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', but few roles fall below F₂.

Although Osmin's note is the lowest 'demanded' in the operatic repertoire, lower notes are heard, both written and unwritten: for example, it is traditional for basses to interpolate a low C in the duet "Ich gehe doch rathe ich dir" in the same opera; in Richard Strauss' ''Der Rosenkavalier'', Baron Ochs has an optional C₂ ("Mein lieber Hippolyte"). The high extreme: a few bass roles in the standard repertoire call for a high F{{Music|#}} or G (F{{Music|#}}₄ and G₄, the one above middle C), but few roles go over F₄. In the operatic bass repertoire, the highest notes are a G{{Music|#}}₄ (The Barber in ''The Nose'' by Shostakovich) and, in the aria "Fra l'ombre e gl'orrori" in Handel's serenata ''Aci, Galatea e Polifemo'', Polifemo reaches an A₄.

Within the bass voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories: ''basso cantante'' (singing bass), ''hoher'' bass (high bass), ''jugendlicher'' bass (juvenile bass), ''basso buffo'' ("funny" bass), ''Schwerer Spielbass'' (dramatic bass), lyric bass, and dramatic ''basso profondo'' (low bass).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bass {{!}} Music Appreciation|url=https://www.collegesidekick.com/study-guides/musicappreciation_with_theory/bass|website=collegesidekick.com}}</ref>

=== Basso cantante/lyric high bass/lyric bass-baritone === {{main article|Bass-baritone}} ''Basso cantante'' means "singing bass".<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/cardiffsinger/sites/guides/pages/bass.shtml|publisher=BBC Cymru Wales|title=BBC Cardiff Singer of the World – Guides – Baritone and bass}}</ref> ''Basso cantante'' is a higher, more lyrical voice. It is produced using a more Italianate vocal production, and possesses a faster vibrato, than its closest Germanic/Anglo-Saxon equivalent, the bass-baritone.{{fact|date=April 2025}} {{Div col|colwidth=30em|rules=yes}} * Max, ''Le chalet'' by Adolphe Adam * Duke Bluebeard ''Bluebeard's Castle'' by Béla Bartók * Don Pizarro, ''Fidelio'' by Ludwig van Beethoven * Count Rodolfo, ''La sonnambula'' by Bellini * Blitch, ''Susannah'' by Carlisle Floyd * Méphistophélès, ''Faust'' by Charles Gounod * The King of Scotland, ''Ariodante'' by George Frideric Handel * Don Alfonso, ''Così fan tutte'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Don Giovanni, ''Don Giovanni'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Figaro, ''The Marriage of Figaro'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * The Voice of the Oracle, ''Idomeneo'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Silva, ''Ernani'' by Giuseppe Verdi * Philip II, ''Don Carlos'' by Giuseppe Verdi * Count Walter, ''Luisa Miller'' by Giuseppe Verdi * Ferrando, ''Il trovatore'' by Giuseppe Verdi {{Div col end}}

=== Hoher Bass/dramatic high bass/dramatic bass-baritone === ''{{Lang|de|Hoher Bass}}'' or "high bass" or often a dramatic bass-baritone. {{Div col|colwidth=30em|rules=yes}} * Igor, ''Prince Igor'' by Alexander Borodin * Boris, ''Boris Godunov'' by Modest Mussorgsky * Klingsor, ''Parsifal'' by Richard Wagner * Wotan, ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' by Richard Wagner * Caspar, ''Der Freischütz'' by Carl Maria von Weber * Banquo, ''Macbeth'' by Giuseppe Verdi * Zaccaria, ''Nabucco'' by Giuseppe Verdi * Fiesco, ''Simon Boccanegra'' by Giuseppe Verdi {{Div col end}}

=== Jugendlicher Bass === ''{{lang|de|Jugendlicher Bass}}'' (juvenile bass) denotes the role of a young man sung by a bass, regardless of the age of the singer. * Masetto, ''Don Giovanni'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Colline, ''La bohème'' by Giacomo Puccini

=== Basso buffo/lyric buffo === {{anchor|Basso buffo}}''Buffo'', literally "funny", basses are lyrical roles that demand from their practitioners a solid coloratura technique, a capacity for patter singing and ripe tonal qualities if they are to be brought off to maximum effect. They are usually the blustering antagonist of the hero/heroine or the comic-relief fool in bel canto operas. {{Div col|colwidth=30em|rules=yes}} * Don Pasquale, ''Don Pasquale'' by Gaetano Donizetti * Dottor Dulcamara, ''L'elisir d'amore'' by Gaetano Donizetti * Doctor Bartolo, ''The Barber of Seville'' by Gioachino Rossini * Don Magnifico, ''La Cenerentola'' by Gioachino Rossini * Don Alfonso, ''Così fan tutte'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Leporello, ''Don Giovanni'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Papageno, ''Die Zauberflöte'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * The Doctor, ''Wozzeck'' by Alban Berg {{Div col end}}

=== {{Lang|de|Schwerer Spielbass}}/dramatic buffo === English equivalent: dramatic bass {{Div col|colwidth=30em|rules=yes}} * Khan Konchak, ''Prince Igor'' by Alexander Borodin * Baculus, ''Der Wildschütz'' by Albert Lortzing * Ferrando, ''Il trovatore'' by Giuseppe Verdi * Daland, ''Der fliegende Holländer'' by Richard Wagner * Varlaam, ''Boris Godunov'' by Modest Mussorgsky {{Div col end}}

=== Lyric basso profondo === {{main article|Basso profondo}} Basso profondo (lyric low bass) is the lowest bass voice type. According to J. B. Steane in ''Voices, Singers & Critics'', the basso profondo voice "derives from a method of tone-production that eliminates the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a wall-like front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato, the slow beat or dreaded wobble." {{Div col|colwidth=30em|rules=yes}} * Rocco, ''Fidelio'' by Ludwig van Beethoven * Osmin, ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Sarastro, ''Die Zauberflöte'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Pimen, ''Boris Godunov'' by Modest Mussorgsky * Baron Ochs, ''Der Rosenkavalier'' by Richard Strauss * Baldassarre, ''La favorite'' by Gaetano Donizetti {{Div col end}}

=== Dramatic basso profondo === English equivalent: dramatic low bass. Dramatic basso profondo is a powerful basso profondo voice. {{Div col|colwidth=30em|rules=yes}} * Il Commendatore, ''Don Giovanni'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Hagen, ''Götterdämmerung'' by Richard Wagner * Heinrich, ''Lohengrin'' by Richard Wagner * Gurnemanz, ''Parsifal'' by Richard Wagner * Fafner, ''Das Rheingold'' and ''Siegfried'' by Richard Wagner * Marke, ''Tristan und Isolde'' by Richard Wagner * Hunding, ''Die Walküre'' by Richard Wagner * The Varangian (Viking) Guest, ''Sadko'' by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov * The Grand Inquisitor, ''Don Carlo'' by Giuseppe Verdi * Claggart, ''Billy Budd'' by Benjamin Britten {{Div col end}}

=== In Gilbert and Sullivan === All of the Gilbert and Sullivan Savoy operas, except ''Patience'' and ''The Yeomen of the Guard'', have at least one lead bass. Notable roles include:

{{Div col|colwidth=30em|rules=yes}} * Adam Goodheart, ''Ruddigore'' * Arac, ''Princess Ida'' * Bob Becket (Carpenter's mate), ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' * Don Alhambra del Bolero, ''The Gondoliers'' * The Mikado of Japan, ''The Mikado'' * The Notary, ''The Sorcerer'' * Private Willis, ''Iolanthe'' * Sergeant of Police, ''The Pirates of Penzance'' {{Div col end}}

== See also == * Category of basses * ''Fach'', the German system for classifying voices * Voice classification in non-classical music * List of basses in non-classical music

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/cardiffsinger/sites/guides/pages/voice.shtml Guide to the singing voice], BBC Wales * [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Basses.htm Basses in Bach’s vocal works] * {{Commons category-inline|Bass vocalists}} * {{Wiktionary-inline|Bass}}

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