| 释义 |
▪ I. † ˈalto, n.1 Mil. Obs.
Also 6 alta.
[a. Sp. alto in phr. alto hacer, an adaptation of Ger. halt machen to make a stop, f. halt hold-on, stop, stand. Soon changed to alt (perh. after Fr. faire alte, also from Ger.) and halt.]
A halt.
1591Garrard Art of Warre 168 When the Armie makes Alta to rest. 1598Barret Theor. Warres 34 How to make their Alto or stand, and how to double their ranks. Ibid., How to plant his pike in the ground, at any stand or Alto. 1622F. Markham Decades War v. iii. §4. 171 To make stands (which some call Altoes or Hallts)..whereby the souldier may be refresht when he is weary with travell.
▪ II. alto, n.2 and a. Mus.|ˈɑːltəʊ, æ-|
[a. It. alto high (sc. canto singing).]
A. n.
1. strictly, The highest male voice, the counter-tenor; formerly considered as restricted in compass to a sixth above and a sixth below the ‘middle C’; also, the musical part for this voice.
1819Pantol., Alto, in music, the highest natural tenor voice. 1883C. Woolson in Harper's Mag. Mar 567/2 He could join in with his soft little alto.
2. Extended also to, The female voice of similar range, or the musical part sung by it, more strictly known as contralto.
1881A. Hopkinson Waiting vi. 129 The Count takes the accompaniment, Anne and Dolly the treble and alto. 1883Harper's Mag. Feb. 443/1 Their..voices serving only as a foil to her powerful alto.
3. One who has an alto voice.
1784Europ. Mag. V. 324 Altos,—Rev. Mr. Clark..and 48 assistants. 1850Illustr. Lond. News XVII. 368 The entire Choir..is not here, there are..ten altos, six tenors, etc.
4. = alt2.
1862T. Martin Horace (1870) 265 From C in alto down to double D.
5. The Italian name for a tenor violin.
1833Penny Cycl. I. 404 Alto..called in England the Tenor, and by the Italians, the Viola.
6. ellipt. for alto saxophone. Also attrib. Hence ˈaltoist, ˈalto-man, an alto saxophonist.
1876Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms 385/2 Saxophones..are six in number, the high, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass. 1927Melody Maker June 553/3 Lionel Clapper..trots out the ‘hottest’ extemporisations on his alto. 1928Ibid. Feb. 184/2 The ‘hot’ alto chorus by Breed. 1949L. Feather Inside Be-Bop ii. 12 Charlie Parker offers inspired alto solos. 1952B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. (1958) xxi. 276 Alto-men of course—they all imitated Bird. 1956M. Stearns Story of Jazz (1957) xviii. 242 Altoist Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderley from Florida.
B. attrib. as adj.
a. Belonging to the alto; also, applied gen. to the second highest member of a family of musical instruments: high, tenor. alto clef: the C clef when placed on the third line of the stave. alto-ripieno [f. It. ripiéno that which fills up]: a tenor part, instrumental or vocal, used only occasionally in a grand chorus.
Whether alto in such contexts is an adjective or a combining form (i.e. alto- 1) is not certainly determinable, and the presence or absence of a hyphen is an uncertain guide. Many of the examples given below could be placed with equal justification s.v. alto- 1.
1845E. Holmes Mozart 347 It was sung by his visiters..himself taking the alto part. 1802,1856[see alto- 1]. 1871Haweis Mus. & Mor. ix. 353 A quiet alto song, full of solemn pathos. 1879Curwen Mus. The. 23 The Alto or Contralto Clef is..a C Clef but it is placed in the middle line. 1939[see althorn].
b. spec. alto saxophone, the third highest member of the saxophone family, usually pitched in E flat. Abbrev. alto sax. Hence (often written with hyphens) alto saxist, saxophonist, one who plays the alto saxophone.
1869C. Mandel Mandel's Syst. Mus. xvi. 68 There are various kinds of Saxophones. The smallest..is in B flat; the next, or Alto Saxophone, is in E flat. 1889Grove Dict. Mus. IV. 780/2 A. Adam gives an effective solo to the E♭ Alto Saxophone in his opera ‘Hamlet’. 1927Melody Maker Aug. 785/2 The best features are the alto saxophone in the third chorus and the ‘hot’ fiddle in the first half of the last chorus. 1955Keepnews & Grauer Pict. Hist. Jazz iii. 40 Cobb himself could play trumpet, clarinet, alto sax and banjo. 1958S. Traill in P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz vi. 82 Alto-saxophonist Boyce Brown and pianist Floyd Bean both play in real Chicago style. A. Morgan Ibid. xii. 143 The resultant band..contained.. alto-saxist Lee Konitz.
c. alto-horn, (a) = althorn; (b) U.S., an alto saxophone.
1934Webster, Alto horn, the althorn. 1940C. Sachs Hist. Mus. Instrum. 429 The alto horn, called Altkornett..is coiled either in the shape of a trumpet, or upright as a tuba, or circular as a horn. Its usual pitch is E♭ or F. 1946R. Blesh Shining Trumpets (1949) vii. 161 To some extent, the alto horns and piccolos dropped out of the march band during this period. 1957W. C. Handy Father of Blues v. 64, I had bought a tenor sax for myself, but W. N. P. Spiller, our alto horn player, appropriated it mostly for his own use. |