Alto

The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: altus), refers to the second highest part of a contrapuntal musical texture and is also applied to its associated vocal range, especially in choral music. More rarely it describes the highest male solo voice type (usually designated countertenor), and it is also the root word of contralto, the lowest standard female voice type. When designating instruments, "alto" likewise can refer either to the corresponding vocal range (alto flute and alto trombone) or to musical role (alto recorder and alto clarinet).

Etymology

In choral music for mixed voices, "alto" describes the lowest part commonly sung by women. The explanation for the anomaly of this name is to be found not in the use of adult falsettists in choirs of men and boys but further back in innovations in composition during the mid-15th century. Before this time it was usual to write a melodic cantus or superius against a tenor (from Latin tenere, to hold) or 'held' part, to which might be added a contratenor, which was in counterpoint with (in other words, against = contra) the tenor. The composers of Ockeghem's generation wrote two contratenor parts and designated them as contratenor altus and contratenor bassus; they were respectively higher and lower than the tenor part. From these derive both the modern terms "alto" (and contralto) and "bass".

Alto (disambiguation)

Alto is a musical term that has several possible interpretations.

Alto may also refer to:

Places

People

Music

Other uses

Alto, Piedmont

Alto is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 110 kilometres (68 mi) south of Turin and about 45 kilometres (28 mi) southeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 113 and an area of 7.6 square kilometres (2.9 sq mi).

Alto borders the following municipalities: Aquila di Arroscia, Caprauna, Nasino, and Ormea.

Demographic evolution

References

Xi'an

Xi'an ([ɕí.án]; Chinese: 西安), formerly romanized as Sian, is the capital of Shaanxi province, located in the northwest of the China, in the center of the Guanzhong Plain. One of the oldest cities in China, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming dynasty. Xi'an is the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

Since the 1990s, as part of the economic revival of interior China especially for the central and northwest regions, the city of Xi'an has re-emerged as an important cultural, industrial and educational centre of the central-northwest region, with facilities for research and development, national security and China's space exploration program. Xi'an currently holds sub-provincial status, administering 9 districts and 4 counties. According to the 2010 Census, Xi'an has an urban population of 5,566,711 in its built-up area made of 7 out of 10 districts (all but Yanliang, Lintong and Gaoling not urbanized yet), while the total population of the Municipality is up to 8,467,837. It is the most populous city in Northwest China, as well as one of the three most populous cities in Western China. According to a July 2012 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, it was recently named as one of the 13 emerging megacities, or megalopolises, in China. The report pinpoints and highlights the demographic and income trends that are shaping these cities' development.

Xian County

Xian County or Xianxian (simplified Chinese: 献县; traditional Chinese: 獻縣; pinyin: Xìàn Xiàn) is a county in the Cangzhou prefecture, in the Hebei province of China.

Administrative Divisions

Towns:

Townships:

See also

References

External links

Coordinates: 38°12′N 116°07′E / 38.200°N 116.117°E / 38.200; 116.117

Xian (disambiguation)

Xian may refer to:

See also