How’s your low range?

Comments

1. Paul Carey says

   February 6, 2012 at 9:36 pm

   Seems to me just kind of silly and an attmept at publicity- gotta keep people thinking about you now that the royal wedding is over.

    

   I’ve written a low C once or twice, but only on a piece for a professional choir. I think the low B flat that you see in Eastern Orthodox church music should be viewed as a limit of bass writing- lower than that, like I said, just seems to be silly.

    

   Paul Carey

   http://www.paulcarey.net

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2. David Topping says

   February 6, 2012 at 11:39 am

   I think my bottom “Vodka-assisted” note is about a low A or Ab (below low C), but then, I’m not a profundo. I am, however, one of the low basses on the recording of Grechaninov’s “Passion Week” made by the Kansas City Chorale and the Phoenix Bach Choir (now the Phoenix Chorale) found on Amazon here: http://amzn.com/B000N39HC6

    

   If you go to the Amazon link, and use the “Preview all songs” feature to listen to the samples, you’ll hear low Bb’s (actually A#’s in some cases) on tracks 4, 6, 8, and 12. Be sure to turn up your subwoofer! (the disc won a “Best-Engineered Classical Album” Grammy, and it’s a SACD/CD hybrid–someday, I hope to have a surround system to play it on)

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3. John Howell says

   February 6, 2012 at 11:03 am

   E1 should be possible, but rare, and they should be looking at the basses in barbershop quartets or Southern Gospel quartets.  Although the barbershoppers are more likely to have the legitimate notes, while the gospel singers are more likely to use electronic enhancement.  But they’re all probably making too much already to be interested, or happily working in broadcasting or making voice-over commercials.

    

   But the ones who can do it are going to be around 2 standard deviations from the mean on the good ol’ bell curve, about as many in the population as can hit those Mariah Carrey notes an octave above the Queen of the Night!  Like I said, “rare”!

    

   And what are we supposed to think about a composer who deliberately writes for an instrument that may or may not actually exist?  Pushing the envelope?  Seduced by computer playback?  Perhaps a substance problem?

   All the best,

   John

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4. Jaakko Mäntyjärvi says

   February 6, 2012 at 2:16 am

   I beg to differ on the “never sung before” claim, as basses in choirs singing Orthodox sacred music traditionally double down as far as they can go. I have personally witnessed the Uspensky Cathedral Male Choir (and this is in Helsinki, mind you, not even in a Slavic country) sing a C major chord underpinned by a bottom C two whole tones lower than the note illustrated above.

    

   —

   Regards,

   Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

   Helsinki, Finland

    

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