"Allow me to say that I have found men altos infinitely preferable to those of boys. In short, one good man alto I have experienced to be equal to half-a-dozen boy altos as regards tone; and in respect to phrasing and reading I have found men altos decidedly superior. The two gentlemen altos who were in my choir at SS. Michael and All Angels, Exeter, were acknowledged by London organists to be 'second to none' in the provinces."
On the other hand, Mr. Thomas Ely, F.C.O., of St. John's College, Leatherhead, gave a warm testimony to boy altos:—
"I may say that in my choir at this College I have four or five very good boy altos. One is exceptionally good, possessing a natural alto voice of remarkable richness and beauty. In our services and anthems he takes the solo alto parts, and in my opinion he is far superior to a man alto, except in such anthems as Wesley's 'Ascribe unto the Lord' (expressly written for choirs possessing men altos), in which he cannot take some of the lower notes. The compass of his voice is from F to E♭."
In these letters and experiences there are evidently two underlying ideas. First, that the boy alto has a naturally low voice; second, that the boy alto is a broken-down soprano. For both these notions there is some physical foundation, because there is no doubt that the lower notes of boys of 12 to 14 are rounder and fuller than those of boys of 9 to 12. Herr Eglinger, of Basel, to whose mastery of the subject in theory and practice I can testify, from personal intercourse, distinctly recognises this. He says:—
"It is only when boys and girls approach the period of change, say a year or two before the voice begins to break, that a clear chest-voice, corresponding to that of women, is perceptible. In boys at this stage, the head-voice rapidly declines in volume and height; and what there is of middle register is not much, nor of great service much longer. On the other hand, the chest-tones acquire a resonance, and in boys a certain gruffness, which, mixed with other voices, imparts a peculiar charm to the chorus."
Thus although here and there a boy may be found with a naturally low voice from the first, the majority of altos will be obtained from older boys, who are approaching the period of change. It is, however, of much importance to watch these boys, and stop their singing when their voice really gives way, because it then becomes uncertain in its intonation, and is apt to spoil the tuning of the choir.
The idea that boys must not use the thick or chest register is also a mistake. It is the straining of this register, which produces a hard, rattling sound, that is objectionable. Boy altos have as much right to use the chest register, in its proper place and with proper reserve of power, as women altos.
