Dictionary: O - P

O
@442 obbligato (It., 'obligatory')\An obbligato part is one which has an important

and unusual special role and cannot be dispensed with, as opposed to an

optional part. However, in some l9th century music, the term obbligato was

applied to an additional optional part.

@443 oblique motion\Describes the movement of parts or melodies when one

remains on the same note and the other moves in some direction.

@444 octave\The interval of eight steps (e.g. C to C on the white notes of the

piano).

@445 octet\A composition for eight voices or instruments, or simply eight

people.

@446 ode\The setting of a poem entitled 'ode' to music.

@447 ohne (Ger.)\Without.

@448 op\Abbreviation of Latin opus, work. Used as a publishers' catalogue

system to indicate the order in which a composer's works have been

published. The higher the opus number, the later the music was published in a

composer's lifetime.

@449 opera\ A drama in which all or most characters sing and in which music is

an important element. Early composers of opera include Monteverdi and

Purcell. Other composers are Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi,

Wagner (who preferred the term music drama), Puccini, and in the 20th

century, Berg and Britten.

@450 opera bouffe (Fr.)\A light, often satirical opera or operetta (e.g. by

Offenbach).

@451 opera buffa (It.)\A comic opera especially in the 18th century (e.g. by

Pergolesi).

@452 opera comique (Fr.)\This term describes comic opera but has two special

meanings: (1) A type of French comic opera with spoken dialogue, lighter

than current serious operas in the 18th century; (2) An opera, comic or

otherwise, with spoken dialogue (e.g. Bizet's Carmen in the l9th century).

@453 opera seria (It.)\Serious opera and opposite of opera buffa. This term is

especially applied to the flourishing 18th century style as used by Rossini.

Characterised by the use of castrato singers, heroic or mythological plots,

Italian libretti and formality in the music and action.

@454 opera-ballet\A stage work giving more or less equal importance to opera

and ballet (e.g. the works of Lully and Rameau in France in the 17th and 18th

centuries).

@455 opera oratorio\A stage work involving elements of both opera and oratorio

(e.g. Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex).

@456 operetta (It., 'little opera')\A term applied in the l9th century to lighter

styles of opera involving dialogue. Composers included Offenbach, Johann

Strauss and Sullivan. This style is sometimes referred to as light opera.

@457 operette (Fr.)\Operetta.

@458 oratorio\A musical composition (originating around 1600) consisting of an

extended setting of a religious or epic text for chorus, soloists and orchestra

for performance in a church or concert hall, although originally oratorios

involved scenery, costumes and action. An example is Handel's Messiah of

1742.

@459 orchestra\A large body of instrumentalists which has developed

historically. The first orchestras were variable, but by the baroque period they

consisted of strings, oboes and bassoons with other solo instruments.

Standardisation took place in the classical period when the orchestra was

divided into four sections: strings, woodwind (two flutes, two oboes, two

bassoons and clarinets), brass (two horns and two trumpets) and percussion

consisting of two kettledrums. The orchestra was greatly expanded in the 19th

century to include the harp and other percussion. Some 20th century

composers began writing for smaller ensembles (perhaps mainly because of

economics).

@460 orchestration\(1) The art of writing for an orchestra, band, etc., involving

great knowledge of tone colours, range of instruments, technical capacities

and combinations of instruments, etc. (2) The scoring of a work, originally

intended for another medium, for an orchestra.

@461 organum\A medieval type of part-writing based on plainsong and

harmonised by either one, two or three parallel parts.

@462 ornaments\Also called graccs or embellishments, these are notes

considered to be an extra embellishment of a melody which are either added

spontaneously by the performer or indicated by the composer on the score by

signs or notation. In the 17th and 18th centuries, omaments were mostly

indicated by signs and they included the trill, mordent, turn, arpeggio and

appoggiatura. Composers wrote out ornaments in full in later periods.

@463 ossia (It.)\Or. Indicates an alternative passage (usually a simpler version) in

a composition.

@464 ostinato (It., 'obstinate')\A persistently repeated musical figure or rhythm. A

basso ostinato or ground bass has this feature in the bass part.

otez (Fr.)\Take off. Otez Ies sourdines, take off the mutes.

@465 ottava (It.)\Octave. Often written 8ve. All'ottava, at the octave and ottava

bassa, an octave lower.

@466 overtone\Any notes of the harmonic series are given this name except for

the first fundamental.

@467 overture\(1) An orchestral piece preceding an opera, oratorio or play; (2)

Since Mendelssohn's Hebrides of 1832, the overture also describes a one

movement orchestral piece composed for the concert hall with a non-musical

subject. This is also called the concert overture; (3) In the 17th and 18th

centuries the French overture (preceding an opera, etc.) was in three

movements, slow-quick-slow, and the Italian overture (a precursor of the

symphony) also in three movements was quick-slow-quick.

P
@468 p\Abbreviaion for piano (It.), soft. Varying degrees of increasing softness

are abbreviated as pp, ppp, etc.

@469 pantomime\(1) Traditionally a play in mime; (2) Nowadays it is a

Christmas stage entertainment based on a fairy tale or other traditional source

with dialogue, popular songs, costumes and actions (e.g. Snow White).

@470 pantonality\Schonberg preferred this term to atonality (e.g. music not

written in any definite key).

@471 parallel motion\The movement of two or more parts in the same direction

while also keeping the same interval between them.

@472 parody mass (Lat. missa parodia)\A polyphonic mass (e.g. by Palestrina)

flourishing in the 16th century based on existing material of a motet or

chanson. This term has only been used since the 19th century, however.

@473 part\The music of a particular voice or instrument in an ensemble.

@474 parte (It.)\Voice-part.

@475 partials\The tones of the harmonic series, the lowest being thefirst partial

and the others the upper partials or overtones.

@476 partita (It.)\A suite. This term was much used in the 18th century. In the

17th century, however, a partita was a variation.

@477 part-song\Generally a strophic song for several male, female or mixed

voices in which there are many singers to a part, with the top part usually

having the principal part. Composers include Elgar, Parry and Stanford.

@478 part-writing\The composing of polyphonic music and the writing of equally

good melodic parts.

@479 pas (Fr )\Step. A pas d 'action is a ballet scene of dramatic nature and a pas

de deux is a dance for two.

@480 pasodoble (Sp., 'double step') or paso doble\A modern and quick Spanish

dance in 2/4 time.

@481 passacaglia\Originally a slow and stately dance appearing in keyboard

music of the 17th century. Later the passacaglia was a piece with a theme

continually repeated, but not necessarily in the bass, like the chaconne.

@482 passage\A section of a composition, usually with no structural importance.

@483 passing note\A note, which may be accented or unaccented, forming a

discord with the chord with which it is heard, but is melodically placed

between two consonant notes.

@484 passion music\This is the Passion of Christ, as accounted by Matthew,

Mark, Luke and John, set to music and properly performed during Holy

Week.

@485 pasticcio (It., 'pie')\An operatic work with the material drawn from the

works of various composers, especially popular in the 18th century.

@486 pastiche (Fr.)\A piece composed deliberately in the style of another well-

known composer. See also pasticcio above.

@487 pastoral\(I) Alternative name for the madrigal; (2) Any piece representing

country life.

@488 pastorale (It.)\(I) An instrumental movement with long bass notes giving a

drone-like effect in 6/8 or 12/8 time; (2) Obsolete term for a stage

entertainment based on a legendary or rustic subject.

@489 patter song\Popular in opera, this is a comic song in which words, sung as

fast as possible, are often tongue-twisters. Often found in the works of Gilbert

and Sullivan.

@490 pausa (It.)\A rest (not a pause).

@491 pause\A wait of indefinite length on a note or rest.

@492 pavan (Eng.) or pavane (Fr.)\A slow, stately dance usually in duple time

dating from the 16th century. It was normally followed by the quicker galliard

after about 1550, often employing the same theme.

@493 pedal\ The fudamental or lowest note of the harmonic series especially

applied to the playing of brass instruments.

@494 pedal point\A note, usually in the bass, which is held below changing

harmonies above, with which it may be discordant.

@495 pentatonic\ A five note scale, the commonest being without minor seconds

(e.g. CDEGA-C...).

@496 per (It.)\By, through, for (e.g. per archi, for strings).

@497 perdendosi (It., 'losing itself')\Gradually dying away.

@498 perfect cadence\ A cadence with the chord progression consisting of the

dominant (chord V) to the tonic (chord I) which has a 'complete' sound.

@499 perfect intervals\These are the intervals of the octave, fourth and fifth.

@500 perfect pitch\A sense of pitch which enables a person to identify a note

simply by hearing it.

@501 perfect time\In medieval music, this was triple time.

@502 perpetual canon\ Popularly known as a round, this is a never-ending canon

which is also known as an infinite canon.

@503 perpetuum mobile (Lat., 'perpetually in motion')\A fast piece of music in

which a rapid repetitive note-pattern is played throughout.

@504 pesante (It.)\Heavy, ponderous.

@505 petit (Fr.)\Little .

@506 petto (It., 'chest')\In musical contexts used as in voci di petto, chest voice.

@507 phantasie (Ger.)\Fantasy.

@508 phrase\ A group of notes forming a unit of a melody. To phrase a melody is

to observe and mark the divisions of a melody into units or phrases .

@509 phrygian cadence\A cadence which ends on the dominant of the relative

minor.

@510 phrygian mode\The mode which, on the white keys of the piano, is

represented by E to E.

@511 piacere a (It.)\At pleasure (e.g. not at any strict speed).

@512 piacevole (It.)\Pleasantly.

@513 piangendo (It.)\Plaintively.

@514 pianissimo (It.)\Very soft, with abbreviation pp.

@515 piano (It.)\(1) Soft, abbreviation p; (2) Standard abbreviation in French and

English for pianoforte.

@516 pianoforte\(It)soft and loud, abrrev. is piano.

@517 picardy third or tierce de picardie (Fr.)\The surprising sound of a major

third at the end of a piece otherwise in a minor key thus converting the

expected minor chord to a major one. This was a common device up to the

mid-18th century .

@518 pi- (It.)\More. Piu lento, slower.

@519 piuttosto (It.)\Somewhat, rather.

@520 pizz\Abbreviation of pizzicato.

@521 pizzicato (It.)\Indication to pluck notes on a bowed string instrument.

Abbreviation pizz.

@522 plagal cadence\ A closing cadence consisting of a progression of the

subdominant (chord IV) to the tonic (Chord I) sounding like 'Amen'.

@523 plainchant or plainsong (from Lat. cantus planus)\ Medieval church music

usually describing the gregorian chant which still survives today in the Roman

Catholic church. It consists of a single, unaccompanied vocal line in free

rhythm like speech with no regular bar lengths.

@524 pneuma (Gk ., ' breath ' )\A type of florid passage in plainsong sung to a

single vowel.

@525 pochettino, pochetto (It.)\Very slightly, very little. Diminutive of poco.

@526 pochissimo (It. )\Very slightly. Superlative of poco.

@527 poco (It.)\Slightly, little, rather. Poco crescendo, getting slightly louder.

poco a poco, little by little.

@528 poi (It.)\Then. In the phrase scherzo da capo, e poi la coda it means repeat

the scherzo and then go on to the coda.

@529 pointe d'archet (Fr.)\Point of the bow.

@530 pointillism\Term taken from painting (referring to pictures using separate

dots of colour) and applied to the music of some 20th century composers (e.g.

Webern). This described music of a spare and pointed style emplying use of

pizzicato.

@531 polacca (It.)\See polonaise.

@532 polka\A moderately fast dance in 2/4 time for couples, originating in

Bohemia in the 19th century and becoming popular in Europe and the U.S.A.

@533 polo\A Spanish dance in fast, syncopated 3/4 time with song.

@534 polonaise\A stately Polish dance in moderately fast 3/4 time dating from at

least the 16th century. Composers include Bach, but the most famous

examples are the 13 written by Chopin.

@535 polychoral\Term describes the use of several choirs performing both

separately and jointly in a composition.

@536 polymetry or polymetrical\The combining of different metres

simultaneously (e.g. 2/4 against 3/4 or 6/8).

@537 polyphony\A style of music in two or more parts in which (as opposed to

homophony) each part is independent and of equal importance. Therefore,

polyphonic music implies the use of counterpoint, and some of the most

important forms are the motet, canon and fugue. Composers include

Palestrina, Byrd and Bach.

@538 polyrhythm\The systematic use of quite different rhythms sounding

simultaneously. Polyrhythmic devices are especially used in the 20th century.

@539 polytonality\The use of two or more keys performed simultaneously and

employed by Stravinsky, Holst and Milhaud. When only two keys are used,

this is referred to as bitonality.

@540 pomposo (It.)\In a pompous manner.

@541 port a beul (Gael.)\Same as mouth music.

@542 portamento (It.)\Carrying sound. On bowed string instruments or in

singing, the effect is obtained by gliding from one note to another higher or

lower one, without a break in the sound.

@543 position\(1) In string playing, the term indicates where on the fingerboard

the left hand should be in order to play a passage; (2) In trombone playing, the

term indicates how far the slide should be pushed out; (3) In harmony, the

term describes the layout of a chord. Here are the common positions of the

chord with C major as an example, using the notes C E and G. In root

position, the chord of C is played with C (the root of the chord) at the bottom.

Infirst inversion, the chord is played with E at the bottom. In second inversion

the chord is played with G at the bottom. Therefore, the note at the bottom of

the chord determines these positions.

@544 postlude\A final piece of a composition.

@545 pousse (Fr.)\Up bow as opposed to tire, down bow.

@546 pp\Abbreviation for pianissimo, very soft.

@547 precipitato, precipitoso (It.)\Impetuously.

@548 preciso (It.)\Precise.

@549 preclassical\Term describing music before Haydn and Mozart and also

(more vaguely) describing music before Bach.

@550 prelude\ An introductory piece or movement before a fugue, an act of an

opera etc. Chopin and other later composers wrote preludes as short,

independent piano pieces in one movement.

@551 preparation\A harmonic device in which the effect of a discord is softened

by first employing the note which actually causes that chord to be discordant,

in the previous note with which it is consonant.

@552 prepared piano\ A 20th century term, coined by John Cage, describing a

piano which has been prepared by the insertion of objects between the piano

strings for performance (e.g. a piece of cardboard).

@553 pressez (Fr.)\Increase speed.

@554 prestissimo (It.)\Very fast. Superlative of presto.

@555 presto (It.)\Fast. In Mozart's music this means as fast as possible.

@556 prima, primo (It.)\First.

@557 prima donna (It., 'first lady')\A female singer with the most important part

in an opera.

@558 prima volta (It.)\First time.

@559 primo (It.)\First. (1) Upper part of a piano duet, the lower part being termed

sccondo; (2) The first of two or more performers (e.g. violino primo means

first violin). (3) Tempo primo indicates that the original speed is to be

resumed.

@560 primo vomo (It.)\The chief castrato or tenor role, used in the 18th century.

@561 principal\(1) The first player of an orchestral section (e.g. the 'principal

horn'). (2) In opera, the principal is the singer who performs the main parts,

but not the chief ones.

@562 programme music\Music which interprets or describes a story, painting,

poem, landscape or emotional experience. Opposite of absolute music.

@563 progression\The movement from one note or chord to another in music.

@564 progressive tonality\The systematic plan of beginning in one key and

ending in another in a movement.

@565 punta d'arco (It.)\Point of the bow.