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

Despedida

Despedida or La Despedida may refer to:

Film and TV

Music

See also

Despedida (Julieta Venegas song)

"Despedida" (English:"Farewell") is a song by Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas. It is released as the second single on 11 May 2011 from the album "Otra Cosa". This song was inspired by the Mexican singer-songwriter José Alfredo Jiménez. "Despedida" entered the Latin Pop Airplay and received positive reviews considered the best song from her album. The song has 2 different versions of the music video, one for Europe and the other to America.

Song information

The song was written by Julieta Venegas and musically is a mixture of Ranchera and Pop.

It was released on iTunes in digital download on May 11, 2010. Days later, the singer announced her retirement from the stage to focus on motherhood. Julieta Venegas was inspired to create this song in the Mexican composer José Alfredo Jiménez told herself. The song is saying goodbye to someone in good shape, without rancor or hatred, if it did not work better to say goodbye. Several newspapers and music magazines as Rolling Stone Mexico cataloged "Despedida" as the best song of "Otra Cosa".

Despedida (Shakira song)

"Despedida" (English: "Farewell") is a song written and performed by Colombian singer Shakira, written by her and Antonio Pinto for Mike Newell's 2007 film Love in the Time of Cholera, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez. The song was released on the extended play Love in the Time of Cholera, released by Epic and Columbia Records in 2008.

"Despedida" was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and it was performed live by Shakira at the 65th Golden Globe Awards. It was also nominated for a World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film. In 2008, the song reached No. 6 on the OST charts, and on December 24, 2011, it debuted and peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot Latin Digital Songs.

Shakira included the song in her The Sun Comes Out World Tour (2010–11), where she performed "Nothing Else Matters", by American band Metallica, and "Despedida" is included as its medley. The version was included in her album Live from Paris (2011).