Instruments

Baritone (Vocal)

"Baritone" refers to a male voice type lying between the bass and tenor, and to singers in that category. The roots of the word itself simply mean "low," and for much of its life the term was not clearly distinguished from "bass." The baritone voice came into its own in the eighteenth century with the rise of classical opera and its new variety of character types: the old dichotomy of tenor hero and bass authority figure was complicated by various new male figures, often comic, for which the baritone voice was appropriate. Mozart was especially noted for his range of baritone parts, and most operas since that time have featured baritones prominently. Although popular styles really require a different vocabulary, the adjective "baritone" is often applied to the relaxed, middle-range sort of popular male vocalist as well as to classical singers.