altissimo
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
(of music) very high in pitch
-
of or relating to the octave commencing on the G lying an octave above the treble clef
noun
Etymology
Origin of altissimo
1810–20; < Italian: literally, highest, equivalent to alt ( o ) high + -issimo superlative suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ms. Aldana has a dry but limpid sound on tenor and an expressive command that stretches into an altissimo register.
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2016
There were free-improvised solos, altissimo saxophone squeals and loud, surging sections, but nothing became chaotic; a sense of space and order subsumed everything else.
From New York Times ● May 22, 2013
After her accidental discovery of C in altissimo, Soprano Sack perfected her coloratura.
From Time Magazine Archive
The great merits of her voice lie in her staccato effects, chromatic runs,—which she gives with great purity,—and notes in altissimo.
From Famous Singers of To-day and Yesterday by Henry C. Lahee
It was thus we felt, and after rounding the Point of Angels, and casting anchor in the Bay of Paradise, fancied ourselves quite in altissimo spirits, if not precisely in cielo.
From Los Gringos Or, An Inside View of Mexico and California, with Wanderings in Peru, Chili, and Polynesia by H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
