Between 1902 and 1904, castrato Alessandro Moreschi recorded 17 tracks to become the only castrato ever recorded. Not much demand for this type of music today, whether sung by a eunuch or some type of binary individual.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6U8VZ6riNk

NaturalEunuch wrote: Fri Apr 04, 2025 7:47 am Between 1902 and 1904, castrato Alessandro Moreschi recorded 17 tracks to become the only castrato ever recorded. Not much demand for this type of music today, whether sung by a eunuch or some type of binary individual.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6U8VZ6riNk

To think that, with proper training, even a baritone can sing as a countertenor, thus being very similar to castrato, makes me baffled by the idiocy of that old era. We don't know actually if there aren't mordern castrated countertenors or castratos (by whatever reason). Of course no one would like to share this, but could a young boy could lose his testicles by accident or disease and then go to a conservatory and learn singing.

BTW I read a letter of a old castrato who whipped the fact that he couldn't marry nor bear any offspring. This is the dark side of eunuchoodm when it's forced.

Thanks for posting! It should be pointed out that the recording tech used to make these was far from modern standards, basically the very first "wax cylinder" based machines... If you remember the old RCA Victor "His Master's Voice" logo, the victrola machine in the logo was higher / better technology.

I'm not an audio expert, but what I've read, where the old recordings were weakest was in the high ranges which are most interesting to us in this case, both because the old equipment wasn't as capable of recording it in the first place, and that the high note frequency were the worst worn by the needle tracking in the groove while playing back.... Between the "LOW-fi" recording tech, and the degradation over time, one can question how close to reality these recordings are...

I've also seen discussion back on EAv2 to the effect that even in his prime, Morelli was never a 'top name' castrato singer the way that some were the 'rock stars' of their day - think 'opening act' as opposed to 'main attraction'... By the time these recordings were made, he was considerably older and past his prime....

Paolo expressed the opinion that some of the recordings of modern boy sopranos are probably closer to what the castrati's actually sounded like - i.e this kid was one he pointed at... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whKw72731L8 Definitely a higher quality sound at the very least. (AFAIK this kid is NOT fixed!)

WheelyFixed

The Old RCA Logo had "Nipper (The Dog) listening to a "Phonograph" (Record was a cylinder). Next came "Nipper" listening to a Gramaphone (Disk).
Neither came close to being described as "Hi-Fi".
I've been recorded several times! Don't I count?

TheRagingEunuch wrote: Sat Apr 05, 2025 2:30 am The Old RCA Logo had "Nipper (The Dog) listening to a "Phonograph" (Record was a cylinder). Next came "Nipper" listening to a Gramaphone (Disk).
Neither came close to being described as "Hi-Fi".
I've been recorded several times! Don't I count?

I haven't heard you sing, but your voice on the radio station doesn't sound like you hit castrato ranges...

Besides you were born, not made....

WheelyFixed

WheelyFixed wrote: Fri Apr 04, 2025 11:21 am Paolo expressed the opinion that some of the recordings of modern boy sopranos are probably closer to what the castrati's actually sounded like - i.e this kid was one he pointed at... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whKw72731L8 Definitely a higher quality sound at the very least. (AFAIK this kid is NOT fixed!)

The advantage a castrato has over the kid in the recording is the castrato can hit those high tones as an adult with fully developed adult lungs. Kids and women can't compete with the castrato's extremely powerful male lung capacity that supposedly produces a unique and hauntingly beautiful sound we no longer can hear other than this bad recording of an over-the-hill Moreschi.

NaturalEunuch wrote: Sat Apr 05, 2025 5:22 am

WheelyFixed wrote: Fri Apr 04, 2025 11:21 am Paolo expressed the opinion that some of the recordings of modern boy sopranos are probably closer to what the castrati's actually sounded like - i.e this kid was one he pointed at... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whKw72731L8 Definitely a higher quality sound at the very least. (AFAIK this kid is NOT fixed!)

The advantage a castrato has over the kid in the recording is the castrato can hit those high tones as an adult with fully developed adult lungs. Kids and women can't compete with the castrato's extremely powerful male lung capacity that supposedly produces a unique and hauntingly beautiful sound we no longer can hear other than this bad recording of an over-the-hill Moreschi.

I agree with you NE, but think that Paolo has a valid point that the improved fidelity of modern recording tech, especially given the ability to amplify and otherwise 'improve' a raw recording, it may well be that a kid like the one I pointed at (and IMHO some of his other performances may be better) is closer to the 'real thing' than the bad recording... Certainly it's easier to listen to!

WheelyFixed

NaturalEunuch wrote: Sat Apr 05, 2025 5:22 am The advantage a castrato has over the kid in the recording is the castrato can hit those high tones as an adult with fully developed adult lungs.

While we don’t have kids with fully developed adult lungs, we do have better acoustics in modern theaters, and like Wheely said, far superior sound recording and sound engineering technologies. I don’t think we are missing that much.

dandelion wrote: Sat Apr 05, 2025 10:45 am

NaturalEunuch wrote: Sat Apr 05, 2025 5:22 am The advantage a castrato has over the kid in the recording is the castrato can hit those high tones as an adult with fully developed adult lungs.

While we don’t have kids with fully developed adult lungs, we do have better acoustics in modern theaters, and like Wheely said, far superior sound recording and sound engineering technologies. I don’t think we are missing that much.

I'm sure we're not. That kind of singing is out of date anyway.