Lower voices can have richness and weight. Here are some other words I've heard or read that have described Mezzo or Contralto voices: bluesy, smoky, velvety, and dark. Even if your voice isn't one of these (I'm pretty sure mine isn't!), it's possible to develop some deeper color (or you can think of it as flavor or feel, depending on which of your five senses is sharpest) when needed for a particular piece. Simply listening to great singers can give you a sense of how it should sound.
If you're a first alto or if you feel most comfortable singing the middle part in a three-voiced women's piece, it helps to develop your lower register as well as your high one. This may take some work; if you have private lessons, you can ask your instructor for exercises that help. I know my own voice gets cranky when it has to dip beneath the G below Middle C, so if the choir is working on a piece with a very low alto line, I have to practice daily.
Here are several videos or recordings of just a few voices that have the richness I'm talking about. I've tried to include examples from various musical genres but the list is just a start.
- If you're classically-minded or love opera, videos or recordings by the great contralto Marian Anderson and mezzos Denyce Graves & Jessye Norman are the perfect place to start.
- The Dark is My Delight, Brian Asawa, countertenor. Some listeners don't like countertenor voices but I find his exceptionally clear, with the perfect quality for the Elizabethan-era music he sings here.
- Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span) and June Tabor (Fairport Convention), two English folk singers who were active during the British folk revival of the 60s-70s, have put out numerous solo, duet and group recordings. This is a sample of one of their traditional songs.
- Anything by KD Lang is inspiring, but I especially like her 2010 Winter Olympics version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.
- Annie Lennox has a wide range of work but to me her voice is especially suited to ballads like this.
- Lena Horne will please jazz, Broadway and big band enthusiasts.
Wikipedia has comprehensive lists of non-classical contralto and mezzo recording artists. Listening to many different voices can provide additional ideas and inspiration.
