Vocal ranges (NJC)

[Timothy Spong]

I have looked into my 1977 edition of "Guinness Book of World Records," and about vocal ranges of singers, it says, in the most germane part:

"Fraulein Marita Guenther, trained by Alfred Wolfsohn, has covered the range of the piano from the lowest note A'' to c'''''. Of this range of 7-1/4 octaves, 6 octaves are considered to be of musical value. Mr. Roy Hart, also trained by Wolfsohn, has reached notes below the range of the piano.
"Madeleine Marie Robin (1918-60), the French operatic coloratura, coud produce and sustain the B flat above high C in the Lucia mad scene in 'Lucia de Lammermoor.' "
Notes: The actual text does not say "Guenther" but "Gunther" with umlautted u. Because I lack, or at least, don't know how to access, a facility for making an umlautted u, I am following the convention of putting an "e" after the umlautted vowel. And I am using apostrophes (') to stand in for the "prime" marks (like acute-accent marks at steeper angles) for denominating the octaves of the named scale notes.
Anyone wishing to respond, please send me a copy off-list. I am an only-jmdl subscriber.

Tim Spong
Dover, Del., U.S.A.





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