This month, Dr. Peter Hennen’s article, Nature’s way: Vocal Production in Social Context, challenges our basic assumptions about our own personal narrative – the story we tell ourself to explain our triumphs and failures and link our present reality to a better future. How do we come up with a definition for success, how do we measure our progress, and are there ever clear steps to take? How do we know we are on the right path?
Our ‘A Day in the Life…’ series digs deeper into the life stories of countertenors. It is my sincere hope that we might demystify the process of building and sustaining a performing career, and create an encouraging environment for the next generation of singers. If you are a performer at any career level and would like to contribute to this ongoing project, please be in touch. This month, meet Bryan DeSilva…
~The Editor
I had considered beginning this glimpse into my musical journey with something to the effect of: “I’m just a scared little countertenor trying hard to make it in the big, bad world of Classical Music…”
The Anglican Church was the keeper of a male alto sound that justly captured the imagination of the nascent early music movement. This article asks whether today’s countertenor sound is inherently tied to that tradition, as one cannot help but notice that recent generations of countertenors have found themselves less restricted to this aesthetic. This article aims to begin a conversation about what is inherent versus chosen in the countertenor sound, and – if you are a countertenor – we hope that you will take our brief survey on the subject. 
Our team of elves has been hard at work crafting high quality, original piano/voice editions of countertenor appropriate arias. These scores are crisp and clean and incorporate a number of innovations (including an ossia stave for working out your ornaments). We are excited to announce these arias by Handel, Bach, and Mozart. They will be offered in our initial release (which we expect to be online and available for purchase by January the 15th). 
.
Following the recent New York Times article on countertenors via a feature on Philippe Jaroussky (Who Can Resist a Man Who Sings Like a Woman? by Fernanda Eberstadt), I stumbled upon a critique by Bernard Gordillo (who deftly beat us to the punch). The NYTimes article once again brings up the old question of whether a countertenor is a genuine male voice type, or a feminine affectation.