Alt

As Printed on a Score

German for the alto voice, labelling the second staff of a choir (Alt, or Alt I and II when divided), abbreviated A. on later systems. As a prefix it names lower members of an instrument family — Altflöte, Altposaune — and the alto clef (Altschlüssel). Unlike French alto, it does not mean the viola, which German calls Bratsche.

Abbreviations: A.

How Composers Use It

The lower women’s or boys’ voice, written in treble clef; in a choir it lies roughly from the G below middle C to the C or D an octave above middle C. As a solo designation Alt usually means a contralto — Mahler writes “Urlicht” in his Second Symphony for Alt. Give choral altos melodic interest of their own; inner parts written as filler sound like filler.

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