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| | Voice Definitions and Ranges |
 | | They all meant the same thing, that is, a line of polyphony between cantus (canto, soprano) and tenor (teneur or taille in French), usually written in a clef a 3d apart from the tenor. |
 | | Most alto parts were given to falsettists or "high tenors" (category 1), and soprano parts to castrati; but, "to avoid confusion" falsettists were often called "alti" or "voci naturali" to distinguish them from castrati singing alto. |
 | | Of course these ranges only represent averages, and there is the added problem that the castrati ranges come from contemporary evidence, and it is not clear what pitch people were thinking of when naming ranges, so you may have to move the ranges down a semitone or two. |
| www.medieval.org /emfaq/misc/voices.html (1397 words) |
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