(Fr.: ‘noble bass’).
A term first used in the late 19th century as a French equivalent to the Italian Basso profondo. The higher and more flexible Basse chantante is clearly distinguished (in EMDC, II/ii, 1926, p.920) from ‘the bass without a qualifying adjective [that] is the lowest bass voice, also called basse taille, basse noble, basse profonde’. Although the basse noble has been distinguished from the basso profondo in terms of its greater flexibility and lighter tone, qualities it shares with the basse chantante, comparison of the basse noble with the basse chantante in range should be avoided.
ELLEN T. HARRIS