The Contralto voice is characterized by vocal quality, as well as range. A well trained contralto has an extensive usable range. A professional contralto, who sings Romantic period solo music, must be able to sing and sustain the "a" one octave above a=440. The repertoire demands this. Especially with Brahms and Mahler. On the other end of the spectrum, much repertoire will demand the "D" below middle "C".
There are relatively few true contraltos. Because of this fact, most people you hear covering an alto line or solo are mezzo sopranos.
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, trained singers were most often associated with the Catholic Church; some with Court. In Monastaries and Convents, singers were always segregated by gender (but history has proven, not always by biological sex), and most surviving written music is for single gender choirs. In this era, contraltos played different vocal roles in polyphonic music, depending on their gender.
In Convents, contralto vocal lines were the lower notes, often a bass line or cantus firmus. In Monastaries, contralto lines were often the melody. There is other music, in which you will find 3 female parts that are fairly close in range and intertwine or mens music, in which the alto is not the highest voice. But there are exceptions to everything, since music was often composed with specific singers in mind.
As time passed, the genders remained segregated in the church. But the music that was being written, demanded a wider range of voices. Thus the creation of "Castrati". To learn more about Castrati, when and why they came into being, their cross-over into the mainstream of secular music and their rise to popularity, check out Jeff Adam's Castrati site. Jeff is himself, a male gendered contralto and not a counter-tenor.
Grayson's tone is lovely, deep, resonant, and round, with a very low range that extends up 3 octaves. The warmth and timbre of
Grayson's voice is extremely well suited for instrumental chamber music with solo voice, cantatas, oratorios, and one-on-a-part
vocal ensembles. Grayson regularly performs Bach cantatas and oratorios as a soloist.
Although extremely versatile, Grayson specializes in the German repertoire of both Early and Romantic Period Music. It's especially with Mahler and Brahms, that this singer is allowed to meet, and exceed, the Romantic Periods' musical demands of extensive vocal range and emotional depth with the audience. And that demand is met with a high level of certainty, clarity, and passion that is rarely heard in live performance.
Grayson's is a voice that inspires modern
composers
, and many have written songs for the contralto to perform.
