Ron Chaplin:
>I was wondering what the artistic purpose was for countertenors. Were
>there female altos during the Baroque period? Was it because the tradition
>was for men singers only and only gradually were women accepted? In
>Handel's oratorio Esther, the part of the Priest of the Israelites is sung
>by a countertenor. Was this to give an other-worldly quality to the part?
Perhaps. I do know that the voice was prized mainly for its agility.
Steve Schwartz