Tessitura

When singers begin exploring classical repertoire, they often encounter terms such as lyric soprano, dramatic tenor, coloratura soprano or bass-baritone. These descriptions can sound highly specialised, particularly to singers who are more familiar with simply being described as a soprano, alto, tenor or bass. They belong to a system known as vocal Fach. To understand what is vocal Fach, it is helpful to look beyond a singer’s highest and lowest notes. The Fach system is used primarily in classical singing and opera to describe different types of voices in greater detail. Rather than looking only at range, it considers how the [...]