A boy soprano (British and especially North American English) or boy treble (only British English) is a young male singer with an
unchanged voice in the
soprano range, a range that is often still called the
treble voice
A treble voice is a voice which takes the treble part. In the absence of a separate descant part, this is normally the highest- pitched part, and otherwise the second highest. The term is most often used today within the context of choral music in ...
range (in North America too) when talking about children.
Origins
In the
Anglican and English
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
liturgical traditions (in which girls and women did not sing in church choirs), young male choristers were normally referred to as "trebles" rather than as boy sopranos, but today the term "boy trebles" is increasingly common (girls with high voices are trebles too). The term "treble" derives from the Latin ', used in 13th and 14th century
motets to indicate the third and highest range, which was sung above the
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
part (which carried the tune) and the
alto part. Another term for that range is '. The term "treble" itself was first used in the 15th century. Trebles have an average range of
A3 to F5 (220–700 Hz).
The term ''boy soprano'' originated with Dr Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902), choirmaster of the Cecilian Choir, New York, who used the term for both the choir members and soloists, who were church choristers, when giving concerts in public halls. The earliest use found can be traced to a choral festival at Irving Hall, New York, in May 1866.
Short-lived range
Most trebles have a
comfortable range from the A below "
middle C" (A
3, 220 Hz) to the F one and a half octaves above "middle C" (F
5, 700 Hz), roughly corresponding to an adult male
baritone range, up one octave. Some writing demands higher notes; the
Anglican church repertory, which many trained trebles to sing, frequently demands G
5 (784 Hz) and A
5 (880 Hz). Some trebles, however, can extend their voices higher in the
modal register
Modal voice is the vocal register used most frequently in speech and singing in most languages. It is also the term used in linguistics for the most common phonation of vowels. The term "modal" refers to the resonant mode of vocal folds; that ...
to "
high C
C or Do is the first note and semitone of the C major scale, the third note of the A minor scale (the relative minor of C major), and the fourth note (G, A, B, C) of the Guidonian hand, commonly pitched around 261.63 Hz. The actual frequ ...
" (C
6, 1109 Hz). The high C is considered the defining note of the soprano
voice type
A voice type is a group of voices with similar vocal ranges, capable of singing in a similar tessitura, and with similar vocal transition points ('' passaggi''). Voice classification is most strongly associated with European classical music, ...
. For high notes see, for example, the treble solo at the beginning of Stanford's '' in G'', David Willcocks' descant to Mendelssohn's tune for the carol ''Hark, the Herald Angels Sing'', the even higher treble solo from Gregorio Allegri's ', and the treble part in the ' from Tippett's ''Evening Canticles'' written for St John's College, Cambridge. Many trebles are also able to reach higher notes by use of the
whistle register
The whistle register (also called the flute register or flageolet register) is the highest register of the human voice, lying above the modal register and falsetto register. This register has a specific physiological production that is different f ...
but this practice is rarely called for
and writing above high C is very rare in choral music of any kind.
As a boy approaches and begins to undergo
puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a bo ...
, the quality of his voice increasingly distinguishes itself from that typical of girls.
The voice takes on a resonant masculine quality before its pitch drops, resulting in a liminal stage wherein the boy may sing in a high register with a unique timbre. This brief period of high vocal range and unique color forms much of the ground for the use of the boy soprano in both
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
and
secular music in the Western world and elsewhere. Occasionally boys whose voices have changed can continue to sing in the soprano range for a period of time. This stage ends as the boy's larynx continues to grow and, with the
breaking of his voice, he becomes unable to sing the highest notes required by the pieces of music involved.
The voice of the boy is subject to the effects of the dropping of the
larynx, also known as the breaking of the voice. The ultimate result of this profound change is that a new set of vocal ranges become available, for example
bass,
baritone,
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
,
countertenor and
sopranist
A sopranist (also, sopranista or male soprano) is a male singer who is able to sing in the vocal tessitura of a soprano usually through the use of falsetto or head voice vocal production. This voice type is a specific kind of countertenor. In rar ...
.
It has been observed that boy sopranos in earlier times were, on average, somewhat older than in modern times. For example,
Franz Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
was considered to be an excellent boy soprano well into his teens and
Ernest Lough
Ernest Arthur Lough (; 17 November 1911 – 22 February 2000) was an English singer who sang the famous solo "O for the Wings of a Dove", from Felix Mendelssohn's " Hear My Prayer", for the Gramophone Company (later HMV and then EMI) in 1927 ...
was 15 when he first recorded his famous "
Hear My Prayer" (on 5 April 1927), with his voice not getting deeper until sometime in 1929, when he was either 17 or 18 years old. However, for a male to sing soprano with an unchanged voice in his mid-to-late teens is currently fairly uncommon. In the developed world, puberty tends to begin at younger ages (most likely due to differences in
diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
, including greater availability of
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...
s and
vitamin
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrie ...
s). It is also becoming more widely known that the style of singing and voice training within cathedrals has changed significantly in the past century, making it more difficult for boys to continue singing soprano much beyond the age of 13 or 14, with the raising of
concert pitch
Concert pitch is the pitch reference to which a group of musical instruments are tuned for a performance. Concert pitch may vary from ensemble to ensemble, and has varied widely over music history. The most common modern tuning standard uses ...
being one factor.
Early breaking of boys' voices due to puberty becoming earlier in recent times is causing a serious problem for
choirmaster
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
s.
On the other hand, some musicologists dispute that earlier onset of puberty occurs. They contend that there is no reliable evidence of any significant change in the age of boys' maturity over the past 500 years or even beyond that.
Notable boy sopranos
*
Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for ...
(
Green Day frontman) recorded a song titled "Look For Love" at the age of five. He is now a tenor.
*
Peter Auty
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
sang the original version of the
Howard Blake
Howard David Blake (born 28 October 1938) is an English composer, conductor, and pianist whose career has spanned more than 50 years and produced more than 650 works. Blake's most successful work is his soundtrack for Channel 4’s 1982 film ' ...
song "
Walking in the Air
"Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film ''The Snowman'' based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 children's book of the same name. The song forms the centrepiece of ''The Snowman'', which has become a seasonal fav ...
" for the 1982 animated film ''
The Snowman
''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book '' The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It ...
''.
*
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
first became popular as a boy soprano with a "female" sounding voice.
["Justin Bieber and Other Famous Boy Sopranos". Itchy Fish. 17 August 2010. https://itchyfish.com/justin-bieber-and-other-famous-boy-sopranos/] In early 2011, his voice deepened from the high-pitched treble he had as a child to the lyric baritone voice that he currently has as an adult.
*
Daniel Furlong won
the third and final season of ''
The All Ireland Talent Show
''The All Ireland Talent Show'' was a Raidió Teilifís Éireann television series which was billed as Ireland's biggest-ever talent contest. It was first announced in November 2008 and the first series commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, ...
'' and afterwards released an album called
Voice of an Angel
''Voice of an Angel'' is the debut studio album by then-12-year-old soprano Charlotte Church, released in 1998. The Sony Music recording was extremely popular, selling millions of copies, and made Church the youngest artist in history with ...
.
*
Roy Goodman
Roy Goodman (born 26 January 1951) is an English conductor and violinist, specialising in the performance and direction of early music. He became internationally famous as the 12-year-old boy treble soloist in the March 1963 recording of Alle ...
became famous as the 12-year old treble soloist in the March 1963 recording of
Allegri's ''
Miserere'' with the
Choir of King's College, Cambridge
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's Col ...
, under the direction of
David Willcocks
Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambr ...
.
*
David Hemmings started his career as a boy soprano for
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
and is best known for originating the role of Miles in Britten's Opera ''
The Turn of the Screw
''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmil ...
''.
*
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
rose to fame as a child alongside his brothers as a member of the
Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
. Between 1971 and 1975 his voice descended from boy soprano to dramatic tenor.
*
Andrew Johnston became famous while singing on
season 2 Season 2 may refer to:
* ''Season 2'' (Infinite album)
* '' 2econd Season''
See also
*
{{disambig ...
of ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...
'' and afterwards releasing an album called
One Voice. He is now a
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
/
high baritone opera singer as a result of his voice getting deeper.
*
Aled Jones
Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for ...
, a world famous
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
boy soprano, sang a cover version of "Walking in the Air" in 1985 for a
Toys "R" Us
Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...
commercial in spite of being mistaken for the original singer heard on the animated movie ''The Snowman''.
He now sings in the baritone vocal range.
*
Frankie Lymon
Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group Th ...
became a famous singer when he recorded "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" with 1950s boy band
The Teenagers
The Teenagers are an American music group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ Alan Freed. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young Frankie Lymon as lead s ...
and remained popular after 1957 as a solo artist. As he matured into adulthood by the 1960s, his voice changed to a deep tenor.
*
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...
performed as an
Elvis
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
impersonator as a child. He is now a lyric tenor.
*
Jean-Baptiste Maunier
Jean-Baptiste Maunier (, born 22 December 1990) is a French actor and singer. He is best known for his role in the 2004 French film ''Les Choristes''.
Early life
Jean-Baptiste Maunier was born to Thierry Maunier, a cameraman, and Muriel Maunier. ...
starred as Pierre Morhange and sang in the 2004 French film ''Les Choristes'', which is also known as ''
The Chorus''.
*
Joseph McManners
Joseph McManners (born 3 December 1992) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and actor.
Personal life
McManners is the son of musician and writer Hugh McManners and Deborah McManners.Interview from thLimited Edition Japanese DVD releaseo ...
first became known when he played in a local production of the
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's " Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his wor ...
musical ''
Oliver!'' as the title character. He then won the BBC competition to portray the title character in
Rachel Portman
Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman,
FilmReference.com The Little Prince
''The Little Prince'' (french: Le Petit Prince, ) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and military pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 an ...
''. He is also known for his renditions of
Mike Batt's "
Bright Eyes", "
Circle of Life
"Circle of Life" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King''. Composed by English musician Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice, the song was performed by Carmen Twillie (the deep female lead vocals) and Lebo M. (opening vocals ...
" from ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...
'' and
Howard Shore's "
In Dreams".
* Liam McNally became famous when he made it to the Top 10 on
season 4 Season 4 may refer to:
* "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock''
See also
*
* Season One (disambiguation)
* Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to:
* ''Season 2'' (Infinite album)
* '' 2econd Season''
See also
*
...
of ''Britain's Got Talent'' after he wowed audiences and impressed strict judge
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...
. He is now a baritone singer who, as of 2015, is studying at the
Royal Northern College of Music.
*
Paul Miles-Kingston's claim to fame was when he sang as one of the soloists in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's choral work ''
Requiem'' with female soprano
Sarah Brightman and tenor
Plácido Domingo
José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...
. As of 2010, Miles-Kingston worked as a music teacher.
* Paul Phoenix sang the theme song to the BBC ''
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' is a 1974 spy novel by British author John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has receive ...
'' as a
St. Paul's Cathedral chorister and is now a tenor singer who was in the a cappella group
The King's Singers
The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 19 ...
for 17 years.
*
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
(of
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
) sang as a choirboy in a trio of boy sopranos for
Queen Elizabeth II at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
in the 1950s.
* Andrew Swait has done touring, live performances and studio recordings both as a chorister for
The Choirboys and as a solo artist. He now sings in the
bass vocal range.
*
Anthony Way
Anthony Way (born 14 December 1982) is an English chorister and classical singer, who rose to fame after appearing as a chorister in a BBC TV series. He has since had success as a recording artist, with gold and platinum discs to his credit.
B ...
starred as Henry and sang in the miniseries ''The Choir'', which is based on the novel of the same name by
Joanna Trollope
Joanna Trollope (; born 9 December 1943) is an English writer. She has also written under the pseudonym of Caroline Harvey. Her novel ''Parson Harding's Daughter'' won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Ass ...
.
*
James Westman
James Westman (born September 16, 1972) is a Canadian baritone known for his interpretation of the Verdi, Puccini and bel canto operatic repertoire, and particularly his signature role of Germont in '' La traviata'', which he has sung in over 1 ...
is known as being the first boy to ever perform the song "Child's View of Heaven" from
Gustav Mahler's ''
4th Symphony''. He had also toured as a boy soprano with Three Boys Choirs (Paris,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, and
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
). He is now a successful baritone opera singer.
*
Max Emmanuel Cenčić became famous in his native Croatia at the age of six after singing the Queen of the Night's
coloratura aria "
Der Hölle Rache
"" ("Hell's vengeance boils in my heart"), commonly abbreviated "", is an aria sung by the Queen of the Night, a coloratura soprano part, in the second act of Mozart's opera ''The Magic Flute'' ('). It depicts a fit of vengeful rage in which the ...
" from
Mozart's opera
The Magic Flute
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...
in on Zagreb television in 1982. In 1987, Cenčić sang the notably difficult ''
Frühlingsstimmen'' in
Belgrade at the age of 11. Cenčić worked as a
male soprano for a short time even after his
voice broke
'
A voice change or voice mutation, sometimes referred to as a voice break or voice crack, commonly refers to the deepening of the voice of men as they reach puberty. Before puberty, both sexes have roughly similar vocal pitch, but during puberty ...
, but he ultimately retrained as a
countertenor and found success.
*
Aksel Rykkvin was considered by critics to be among the finest boy sopranos, famous for his renditions of
baroque aria
In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
s as well as his chart-topping albums ''Aksel!'' (2016) and ''Light Divine'' (2018). Rykkvin performs as a
baritone as of 2018.
*
Shen Zhou
Shen Zhou (, 1427–1509), courtesy names Qi'nan () and Shitian (), was a Chinese painting, Chinese painter in the Ming dynasty. He lived during the post-transition period of the Yuan conquest of the Ming. Luckily, his family worked closely with ...
, a popular Chinese singer most known for his song ''Big Fish'', despite passing puberty, continues to sing at or near the soprano range.
*
Bobby Breen
Isadore Borsuk (November 4, 1927 – September 19, 2016), better known as Bobby Breen, was a Canadian-born American actor and singer. He was a popular male child singer during the 1930s and reached major popularity with film and radio appearanc ...
was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
child actor who first became famous for singing around 1935, aged 9. He sang in several
Hollywood films, including ''
Let's Sing Again'' and ''
Rainbow on the River.'' He retired as a teenager in the late 1930s, but resurfaced as a tenor in the 1950s and 60s.
References
External links
The Boy Choir & Soloist DirectoryBoychoirs – Past, Present and Future
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy Soprano
Voice types
Child singers
Boy Soprano
A boy soprano (British and especially North American English) or boy treble (only British English) is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range, a range that is often still called the treble voice range (in North Americ ...