Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · section 83 of 100

Range and register

I advise the composer to be guided by Table F. which gives the approximate range of the six principal solo voices. A bracket under the notes defines the normal octave, the register in which the voice is generally used. Within these limits the composer may write freely without fear of hardening or tiring the voice. The normal octave applies also to declamatory singing and recitative; the notes above it are exceptional and should be used for the culminating points of a passage or for climaxes, the notes below, for the fall or decline of a melody. Employing voices in unusual registers for long periods of time will weary both singer and listener, but these registers may occasionally be used for brief intervals so as not to confine the voice too strictly to one octave. A few examples are added to illustrate melody in different types of voices.

Examples:

The Tsar's Bride 102-109 (for extracts cf. Ex. 256, 280, 284)—Marfa's Aria (Soprano).

""" 16-18—Griaznov's Aria (Baritone).

Snegourotchka—The 3 songs of Lell. (Contralto).

Sadko 46-49 (cf. extract, Ex. 120)—Sadko's Aria (Tenor).

" 129-131—Lioubava's Aria (Mezzo-sopr.).

" 191-193 (cf. extract, Ex. 131)—Bass Aria.