LONDON, 10 September 2003 — An English scientist has dealt an apparently fatal blow to the theory that boy sopranos have purer voices than girls, heralding the end of a 500-year tradition in the country’s cathedrals.
David Howard, a professor at the University of York, told the BBC yesterday that a controlled experiment in which 130 people listened to boys and girls singing identical pieces of music had put paid to the theory. “I believe this argument is primarily sexist. It’s got nothing to do with music,” he said.
Howard put the results of his experiment to the British Association’s annual science festival, in Salford, Greater Manchester on Monday.
English cathedral choirs were exclusively male — boys singing treble, men alto, tenor and base — until a mother successfully challenged the rule in the European Court in 1991. Her argument was that her daughter was a better singer than her son, who had gained one of the prestigious places.
To debunk the old theory Howard made recordings of Evensong held on consecutive days at Wells Cathedral in Somerset, with boys singing one session and girls signing another. Subsequent listeners were able to identify the gender of the choristers correctly only 53 percent of the time — a result that Howard compared to “sticking a pin in.”
Despite the court ruling, English cathedral choirs remain largely male, instead having parallel male and female choirs who seldom sing together.
“A girl tends to have a voice that people describe as more breathy, more husky — and the boy tends when trained to have a nice, pure voice — something very special,” Howard said.
“However, when you put them as a group singing the top line, the director of music attempts to get a blend and that instrument is identical to the boys,” he added.