Alto, in music, the highest singing voice of a male adult, the lowest of a boy or a woman, being in the latter the same as contralto. The alto, or counter-tenor, is not a natural voice, but a development of the falsetto. It is almost entirely confined to English singers, and the only music written for it is by English composers. It is especially used in cathedral compositions and glees.
Altofts, a town of England, West Riding of Yorkshire, on the south of the Calder, 3 miles north-east of Wakefield, with a fourteenth-century Gothic church, and extensive collieries adjoining. Pop. (1921), 5050 (urban district).
Al′ton, a town of England, in Hampshire, 16 miles north-east of Winchester, famous for its ale. Pop. (1921), 5580.
Al′ton, a town of the United States, in Illinois, on the Mississippi near the mouth of the Missouri, with a state penitentiary, several mills and manufactories, and in the neighbourhood limestone and coal. Pop. 23,783.
Al′tona, an important commercial city of Schleswig-Holstein, on the right bank of the Elbe, adjoining Hamburg, with which it virtually forms one city. It is a free port, and its commerce, both inland and foreign, is large, being quite identified with that of Hamburg. Pop. (1919), 168,729.
Altoo′na, a town of the United States, in Pennsylvania, at the eastern base of the Alleghanies, 244 miles west of Philadelphia, with large machine-shops and locomotive factories. Pop. (1920), 60,331.
Al′torf, a small town of Switzerland, capital of the canton of Uri beautifully situated, near the Lake of Lucerne, amid gardens and orchards, and memorable as the place where, according to legend, Tell shot the apple from his son's head. A colossal statue of Tell now stands here. The town possesses a beautiful church containing a remarkable organ and a picture by Van Dyck. Pop. 3837.
Alto-rilievo (a˙l′tō-rē-lē-ā″vo), high relief, a term applied in regard to sculptured figures to express that they stand out boldly from the background, projecting more than half their thickness, without being entirely detached. In mezzo-rilievo, or middle relief, the projection is one-half, and in basso-rilievo, or bas-relief, less than one-half. Alto-rilievo is further distinguished from mezzo-rilievo by some portion of the figures standing usually quite free from the surface on which they are carved, while in the latter the figures, though rounded, are not detached in any part.
Altötting (a˙lt-eut′ing), a famous place of pilgrimage, in Bavaria, 52 miles E.N.E. of Munich, near the Inn, with an ancient image of the Madonna (the Black Virgin) in a chapel dating from 696, and containing a rich treasure in gold and precious stones; and another chapel in which Tilly was buried. Pop. 5408.