voce di testan.
/ˌvəʊtʃeɪ dɪ ˈtɛstə/, U.S. /ˌvoʊtʃeɪ di ˈtɛstə/ Music. Now somewhat rare.
The upper register of the voice immediately above the chest voice; = head voice n. Formerly also: the falsetto voice. Cf. voce di petto n., voce di gola n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > singing > singing voice > [noun] > register
voce di petto1742
voce di testa1742
head voice1806
head register1845
chest register1847
voce di gola1876
chest-voice1879
1742 J. Galliard in tr. P. F. Tosi Observ. Florid Song i. 22 Voce di Testa comes more from the Throat, than from the Breast.
1786 T. Busby Compl. Dict. Music Voce di Testa,..a falsetto, or feigned voice.
1832 Times 14 Feb. 5/5 We shall not enter into a discussion on the illegal interference of the voce di testa, which is necessarily made to supersede the voce di petto, whenever this singer indulges in transitions or running passages from his lowest to his highest notes.
1889 G. B. Shaw in Star 11 Oct. 2/3 This high voice is what used to be called voce di testa or head voice.
1996 R. Miller On Art of Singing i. 11 Especially important is its action in the zona di passaggio (passage zone), an area also termed voce media (middle voice) that lies midway between regions of the voice traditionally designated as voce di petto (chest voice) and voce di testa (head voice).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1742