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This article used to redirect to countertenor: I've turned it into a separate article because although the term seems to have been translated as countertenor often enough in the past, the two are different voices. There is plenty of debate, but the English countertenors of the 18th century appear to have been mostly falsettists (I think William Savage is good evidence for this, as he sang as both an alto and a bass), while the French haute-contres were essentially high tenors who only used falsetto occasionally at the very top of their range, if at all. Moreoever, the repertoire for the two is completely different, and not really interchangeable. Apologies in advance to those who differ! Cheers, Moreschi Talk 16:25, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
instrument
editThere are also works with 'taille' and 'haute-contre' parts - purely instrumental. should one take these to mean tenor (viola?) and poss. cello? Or is something else meant? The Gottfried Finger suite I'm looking at (a manuscript here from a Dresden library ) is of course from somewhere around the turn of the 18th century... Schissel | Sound the Note! 15:21, 5 October 2010 (UTC)