A question about French Baroque terminology

[kishnevi]

I am listening to Christie's Grand Motets Francais set and  I have a question about the terms used to describe the vocal soloists.

What do dessus, taille, basse-taille, and haut-contre mean?  They seem to parallel the usual SATB categories, but not exactly. For instance, sometimes a performer is listed as Soprano I and Dessus I, and another as Taille and  Tenor.

All enlightenment would be appreciated.

[prémont]

Wiki offers a nice explanation here:

Dans la musique occidentale, et plus précisément au sein de la musique baroque française, la taille (ou haute-taille) est la partie vocale intermédiaire entre la haute-contre et la basse-taille. Elle était notée en clef d'ut 4e et avait un ambitus s'étendant du do2 au sol31. La voix de taille était une voix de ténor grave, aujourd'hui parfois appelée de « baryténor », alors que la haute-contre était un ténor très aigu, et la basse-taille équivalait peu ou prou aux catégories modernes de la basse chantante ou du baryton-basse ou tout simplement du baryton.

[Marc]

Wiki offers a nice explanation here:

Dans la musique occidentale, et plus précisément au sein de la musique baroque française, la taille (ou haute-taille) est la partie vocale intermédiaire entre la haute-contre et la basse-taille. Elle était notée en clef d'ut 4e et avait un ambitus s'étendant du do2 au sol31. La voix de taille était une voix de ténor grave, aujourd'hui parfois appelée de « baryténor », alors que la haute-contre était un ténor très aigu, et la basse-taille équivalait peu ou prou aux catégories modernes de la basse chantante ou du baryton-basse ou tout simplement du baryton.

Thanks. Very helpful.

More useful information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk

Or this:

The voices are divided into four categories; haute-contre (male alto), taille (tenor) and basse (bass) for masculine voices, and dessus (treble) for high voices.
(after Jean-Jacques Rousseau... I think.)

Add this:
basse-taille = baritone.

[prémont]

More useful information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk.

Very funny.

Change Danish to Dutch or any one language (since the actors just speak nonsense) and you will get an equally funny video.

Well, I admit that one must be able to read French to understand my Wiki-quote, because the Google translate makes pure nonsense of it.

[kishnevi]

Thanks. I could in fact figure out the French Wiki quote: after all, English has plenty of words derived from French.

Whoever compiled the credits for the Christie recordings is a confusing fellow. Nothing I see indicated what was what.  .

[Monsieur Croche]

Thanks. Very helpful.

More useful information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk

Lol.  After several years of living in Holland, and having learned 'good enough' general conversational Dutch, and then finding myself in need of a screwdriver and other sundries, I walked into a hardware store (ijzerwinkel)... only to realize the moment I walked in that I did not know the word for any and all things in that store! ;-)

Specialized vocab... assumed known and taken in stride at home, becomes clearly 'specialized' when in another language... just think, us Yanks have numeric and fractions for note duration values, where England and the rest of the world pretty much is familiar with breve / minim / crotchet / quaver / semiquaver / demisemiquaver / hemidemisemiquaver, etc. :-)

[Marc]

Lol.  After several years of living in Holland, and having learned 'good enough' general conversational Dutch, I walked into a hardware store (ijzerwinkel) in need of a screwdriver and other sundries, only to realize the moment I walked in that I did not know the word for any and all things in that store! ;-)
[...]

I am Dutch, so I understand your problem.
I once tried to order "a postcard with postage for shipping to the Netherlands, please" (in the beautiful Swedish language) in a shop in Stockholm. Well, that ended up in a huge laughter. Luckilly, the shopkeeper did not give me a Spisnigel or a Flimsedåm.

I should have studied Scandinavian languages in my younger years. I've always liked them. If I had done that, then I would be eating raw fish right now in Lapland with a stunningly beautiful blonde.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

I am interested in good translations and explanations of some of the French baroque organ registrations:

Dialogue sur les Grands Jeux
Recit de tierce en taille
Récit de cromorne
Point d'orgue sur les grands jeux

There are many others. This is just a sampling.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

I am Dutch, so I understand your problem.
I once tried to order "a postcard with postage for shipping to the Netherlands, please" (in the beautiful Swedish language) in a shop in Stockholm. Well, that ended up in a huge laughter. Luckilly, the shopkeeper did not give me a Spisnigel or a Flimsedåm.

I should have studied Scandinavian languages in my younger years. I've always liked them. If I had done that, then I would be eating raw fish right now in Lapland with a stunningly beautiful blonde.

Ice babes are the best babes. I loved Norway, while I was there.

[DaveF]

I am interested in good translations and explanations of some of the French baroque organ registrations:

Dialogue sur les Grands Jeux
Recit de tierce en taille
Récit de cromorne
Point d'orgue sur les grands jeux

There are many others. This is just a sampling.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_organ_school could tell you everything you need to know.