![]() ![]() These two voices were always in contrast to each other: one was low, rather soft, always speaking slowly while the other was hectic and high-pitched. Another early memory, equally strong as eple, was the duet of voices I heard daily inside my head until approximately age 14. The word was eple–the Norwegian word for apple. I would say it aloud, exploring every sound within it I would whisper it I would even think it, imagining the vibratory and physical sensations when I pronounced the word. This, in combination with the expansion of the timbral possibilities of voice implicit in my development as a countertenor, began my attraction towards what I later learned were extended vocal techniques.Īs a child I had a favorite word, one I would repeat over and over again. After rediscovering my high-pitched voice during my traditional conservatory training, I started specializing in baroque music, where I found room for spontaneity, improvisation, and a truly playful approach to music research and performance. For my education I chose a classical musical path at the time the mixing of genres was considered taboo in the consevatories. ![]() While growing up, classical music and baroque music were just as much a part of me as heavy rock, punk, and glam rock. As of 13 April 2017, the New World Encyclopedia states on its website that castration was forbidden by law in Italy until as late as 1870. ![]() In reality, however, most of these children died from these encroachments, and the survivors frequently faced a life of misery, ostracized from their own community. Annually, thousands of young boys were tortured in the service of their parents’ aspirations that their son would be the next superstar a performer whose fortune´s glow would extend onto their surrounding family members, and thus ensuring wealth and security for all. ![]() The popularity of castrati as opera singers reached their zenith in the 17th and 18th century: the fame and fortune they might achieve made optimistic parents willing to surrender their sons into the care of shady establishments where castrating operations were performed. As one scholar remarked recently: “The practice of castrating boys for their singing voices-what has been called aesthetic castration, or castration for the sake of art-dates back to church choirs in early medieval Constantinople and 12th-century Spain, although there have been eunuchs throughout history” (Koons 2015). For hundreds of years it was commonplace to perform surgery on young boys so that they would preserve their high bright voices into adulthood. The phenomenon of men singing in a tonal range we in the western music tradition usually associate with women or children is clearly not new. At that time, early in my music studies at the conservatory, I learned that my voice had a word, which helped to set me free upon my quest: countertenor. The voice I fooled around with, usually behind closed doors, could now perhaps attain a new status: as something other than merely the echo of a boy`s voice, or a dream of what used to be, or a desire to release my voice from gender normativity. Later, while listening to the Passions and the Cantatas by Johan Sebastian Bach, one of my favorite composers, I discovered that some of the high-pitched soloist sections were sung by men. When my voice naturally changed during puberty, and I gradually began to lose my highest registry, I did not reflect upon possible opportunities to preserve my soprano register. In my youth I was very found of, and fascinated by, my soprano voice. Or rather, I should say viewpoint, since I am constantly seeking out new sources of inspiration. I am a singing performer, one who has spent quite some time to find my artistic and musical standpoint. Territorium – A Visual Performance-ConcertĭOCUMENTATION OF THE MAIN ARTISTIC RESULT Reflection and Documentation CAPTO MUSICAE – CREATING SONIC AND MUSICAL THEATRE IN A CONTEMPORARY ARTISTIC CONTEXT Øystein Elle The National Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowship Programme 2013 – 2017 Norwegian Theatre Academy, Østfold University College ![]()
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