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Italian musical terms
A great many musical terms are in Italian. Here are some of them.
| Italian term | Literal translation | Definition |
| Musical forms | ||
|---|---|---|
| A cappella | in chapel style | Sung with no accompaniment |
| Aria | air | A song, esp. one from an opera |
| Arietta[?] | little air | A short or light aria |
| Ballabile[?] | danceable | To be danced to |
| Battaglia[?] | battle | A piece suggesting a battle |
| Bergamasca[?] | from Bergamo | A peasant dance from Bergamo |
| Burletta[?] | a little joke | A light comic or farcical opera |
| Cadenza | falling | A florid solo at the end of a performance |
| Capriccio[?] | caprice | A lively piece of music |
| Coda | tail | The end of a piece |
| Concerto | concert | A work for a solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra |
| Concertino[?] | little concert | A short concerto; the solo instrument in a concerto. |
| Concerto grosso | big concert | A Baroque form of concerto |
| Opera | work | A drama set to music for singers and instrumentalists |
| Opera buffa | humorous opera | A comic opera |
| Opera seria[?] | serious opera | An opera with a serious, esp. classical theme |
| Sonata | sounded | A composition for one or two instruments in sonata form |
| Intermezzo[?] | interval | A short connecting instrumental movement |
| Musical instruments | ||
| Piano(forte) | soft-loud | A keyboard instrument |
| Viola | viola, orig. Latin vitulari "be joyful" | A medium-sized stringed instrument |
| (Violon)cello | Small violone (violone means "big viola") | A large stringed instrument |
| Viola da gamba | leg viola | A stringed instrument held between the legs |
| Viola da braccio[?] | arm viola | A stringed instrument held in the arm, such as a violin or viola |
| Viola d'amore | love viola | A tenor viol with no frets |
| Tuba | tube | A large brass instrument |
| Piccolo | little | A tiny woodwind instrument |
| Timpani | drums | A large drum |
| Cornetto | little horn | An old woodwind instrument |
| Campana[?] | bell | A bell used in an orchestra; also campane "bells" |
| Orchestra | orchestra, orig. Greek orkesthai "dance" | An ensemble of instruments |
| Voices | ||
| Soprano | upper | The highest vocal line |
| Alto | high | Second-highest vocal line |
| Contralto | against high | Alto, esp. a female alto |
| Basso | low | Or "bass;" the lowest vocal line |
| Basso profundo[?] | deep and low | A very deep bass voice |
| Castrato | castrated | A male singer, castrated so as to be able to sing soprano (now sung by women) |
| Dynamics - tempo | ||
| Tempo | time | The speed of a piece of music |
| Largo | broad | Slow and dignified |
| Larghetto | a little bit broad | Not as slow as largo |
| Lento[?] | slow | Slow |
| Adagio | ad agio, at ease | Slow, but not as slow as largo |
| Adagietto[?] | little adagio | Faster than adagio; or a short adagio composition |
| Andante | walking | Moderately slow, flowing along |
| Comodo[?] | comfortable | At moderate speed |
| Allegro | joyful | Moderately fast |
| Allegretto | a little bit joyful | Faster than allegro |
| Presto | ready | Very fast |
| Prestissimo | very ready | Very very fast |
| ma non troppo[?] | but not too much | But not too much (allegro ma non troppo) |
| Accelerando | accelerating | accelerating |
| Affrettando[?] | becoming hurried | accelerating |
| Accompagnato[?] | accompanied | The accompaniment must follow the singer who can speed up or slow down at will |
| Dynamics - volume | ||
| Calendo[?] | quietening | Becoming softer |
| Crescendo | growing | Becoming louder |
| Decrescendo[?] | shrinking | Becoming softer |
| Diminuendo | dwindling | Becoming softer |
| Forte | strong | Loud |
| Fortissimo | very strong | Very loud |
| Mezzo forte[?] | half-strong | Moderately loud |
| Piano | gentle | Soft |
| Pianissimo | very gentle | Very soft |
| Mezzo piano[?] | half-gentle | Moderately soft |
| Moods | ||
| Affettuoso[?] | with feeling | Tenderly |
| Con brio[?] | with spirit | With spirit |
| Cantabile[?] | singable | In a fashion suggesting singing |
| Vivace[?] | lively | Lively |
| Agitato[?] | agitated | Excited and fast |
| Animato[?] | animated | Animated |
| Bruscamente[?] | brusquely | Brusquely |
| Con amore[?] | with love | with love |
| Directions | ||
| Attacca[?] | attack | Proceed to the next section without pause |
| Cambiare[?] | change | Any change, such as to a new instrument |
| Techniques | ||
| Coloratura[?] | coloration | Elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line |
| Altissimo[?] | very high | Very high |
| Arpeggio | harp-like | A chord with the notes spread out in time |
| Acciaccatura | crushing | An extra, very fast grace note |
| Appogiatura[?] | leaning | A type of ornament |
| Bocca chiusa[?] | mouth closed | Wordless humming in a choral piece |
| Chiuso[?] | closed | Calls for a horn to be muted by hand |
| Col legno | with the wood | Calls for a bowed instrument to be struck with the wood rather than the hair of the bow |
| Basso continuo | continuous bass | Continuous bass accompaniment |
| Coperti[?] | covered | Of a drum, muted with a cloth |
| Una corda[?] | one string | With the soft pedal, on a piano |
| Tre corde[?] or tutte le corde[?] | Three strings or all the strings | Cancels an una corda |
| Roles | ||
| Prima donna[?] | first lady | Leading female role |
| Comprimario[?]/a | con primario, with the first | A supporting role |
| Criticism | ||
| Bel canto | beautiful voice | Any fine singing, esp. that popular in 18th and 19th c. Italian opera |
| Bravura[?] | skill | A performance of extraordinary virtuosity |
| Bravo! | skillful | a cry of congratulation to a male singer or performer. Fem. brava, pl. bravi, fem.pl. brave |
- Glossary of musical terms (http://www.hearts-ease.org/cgi-bin/terms.cgi?data=conservatory)
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