''Messa di voce'' (Italian, ''placing of the voice'') is a singing technique that requires sustaining a single pitch while gradually making the voice louder ( crescendo) and then softer ( diminuendo). It is considered to be a particularly advanced test of singing ability. ''Messa di voce'' should not be confused with ''

mezza voce A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

'' (Italian, "half voice") which means to sing at half strength.

Technique

The ''messa di voce'' is universally considered a very advanced vocal technique. To be properly executed, the only feature of the note being sung that should change is the volume – not the pitch, intonation, timbre, vibrato, and so on. This requires an extremely high level of vocal coordination, particularly in the diminuendo, so the technique is not often explicitly called for and is rarely heard outside

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

History

In Western art music, the ''messa di voce'' was associated with famous

castrati A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

such as

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli h ...

(and is now a mark of the

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

s and

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

s who sing the same roles in Baroque operas). It was also popular in the

bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

period, when it was often used as a dramatic opening flourish for an aria, for example "Casta diva" from '' Norma''. Another example from a later period is "Pace! Pace, mio Dio", from Verdi’s "La Forza del destino". It became less common as the popular style of opera singing evolved from the light and elaborate music of that era to the louder and more speech-like singing of the middle and later 19th century. In the popular music of the West ''messa di voce'' has been even less common. It still appears occasionally in some of the more ornate styles of popular music, however, like gospel and other styles influenced by it.The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (1986)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messa Di Voce Italian opera terminology