Basso profondo
A basso (or bass) is a male singer who sings in the lowest vocal range of the human voice. A typical bass will have a range extended from around the E a fourteenth below middle C (the note on the first leger line below the bottom of the bass clef) to the E above middle C (on the first line of the treble clef).
In classical music, and particularly in opera, there are sometimes distinctions made between different kinds of basses:
- a basso profondo (or basse noble) is a singer with a particularly deep voice; they may be able to get as low as the B below the bass clef
- by contrast, a basso cantate (or basse chantate) is a singer with a lighter, more lyrical voice, perhaps with a slightly higher range
- Basso buffo is a term used for a comic bass
- sometimes the term bass-baritone is used to mean a singer with a range and tone somewhere between a bass and a baritone (a male voice somewhat higher than a bass)
Some famous bassos include
