Positionig text markup

[Antonio PALAMA']

By trial and error I found that I can modify the vertical position
of text markup using the construct

c2.^#'(columns ((raise . 2) (bold "MAESTOSO")))( d4 ees )g, |

on the other hand,

c2.^#'(((raise . 2) (bold "MAESTOSO")))( d4 ees )g, |

does not raise the text.

What is the function of the columns keyword in this context?

What is the simplest way to modify the horizontal position of text markup?

While
c2^#'........          left aligns the text to the c note
\mark #'........      centers the text markup with respect to the last 
barline.

Is there a simple way to left align a text markup to the last barline?

Tanks for your help.

Antonio