(It.: ‘singing bass’).
A light, legato bass voice as distinct from a deeper, more powerful bass (see Basso profondo). Its early meaning sometimes took on a pejorative tone as when the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe referred to ‘these new singers [who] are called by the novel appellation of basso-cantante (which by-the-bye is a kind of apology, and an acknowledgment that they ought not to sing)’ (Musical Reminiscences, London, 1824). Although more closely associated with vocal tone than range (see Basse chantante), the term has also been used in modern commentary to identify the lyrical baritone and bass-baritone roles of the period of Bellini and Donizetti.
ELLEN T. HARRIS