And there was a time when "nice" meant "unncessarily refined" or "trival",
as in "nice distinction", vs. what it generally means today, which is
"kindly" or "appealing", etc.
The point is, that the origins of the term "contralto" and "alto" may be
of academic interest, but the terms do have two distinct meanings today.
So you may continue to allow your self to be amused or offended by the
"I'm not just an alto, I'm a contralto" folks - but to some of us, they
are making a valid and meaningful point: there IS a distinction in modern
usage between the two terms. A contralto in 2001 means "alto soloist",
where "alto" in modern usage, virtually always refers to a choral/ensemble
singer.
KM
=====
My NEIL SHICOFF Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
-----
We're sitting in the opera house;
We're waiting for the curtain to arise
With wonders for our eyes,
A feeling of expectancy,
A certain kind of ecstasy,
Expectancy and ecstasy....Sh's's's.
- Charles Ives
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