Figure 1.--This portrait shows boy soprano Frank Deeley who was offered $1,000 for 52 rrecitals. Frank was born in Englad and lived in the United States. The photograph might be from 1916 and has been croped. Sadly we have been unable to find any information on his singing. He came to the United States with his mum and sister on a liner from Southampton. He entered America through New York's Ellis Island. A reader tells us that the portrait was taken in 1916.

A boy soprano is a youthful male singer whose voice has not yet changed and still in the soprano range. A boy soprano and a treble are essentially the same, singing in the same high register. The terms are, however, used differently. Choir boys are normally called trebles in the liturgical Anglican and English Catholic traditions. They are sopranos, but the term is generally not used for choir boys. The term boy soprano is usually used to describe boys who perform as soloists. This may include boys both who who sing in choirs as those who do not. The term 'boy soprano' is a very recent term. There was a revival of the boy choir tradition in England (mid-19th century). This revival spread to the United States, at first in Episopal churches. Dr Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902), Choirmaster of the Cecilian Choir, New York, first used the term 'soprano' to describe both choristers and soloists, in this case choristers giving concerts in public halls. He apparently first used the term in 1866.

Created: 1:42 AM 7/4/2011
Last updated: 5:43 AM 7/6/2011