tessitura
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Italian tessitura. Doublet of texture.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]tessitura (countable and uncountable, plural tessituras or tessiture)
- (music) The most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a singer or musical instrument; the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding timbre.
- Hyponyms: soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, counter tenor, tenor, baritone, bass
- Coordinate term: compass
- 1995, Anthony Burgess, Byrne:
- Byrne shrugged. He started writing a bravura / Opera based on Cleopatra’s death, / Exploiting all Maria’s tessitura, / With a high F before her final breath.
- 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador, published 2007, page 257:
- Anne's talented voice made the lines I had written swoop, howl, and whine through an authentically Thatcherite tessitura [...].
Translations
[edit]most comfortable vocal range for a given singer
Italian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From tessere + -tura. Compare Spanish tejedura, Portuguese tecedura, Romanian țesătură, Friulian tiessidure.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]tessitura f (plural tessiture)
- weaving
- weaving mill
- (music) tessitura (most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or musical instrument)
Related terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- tessitura in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *tetḱ-
- English terms borrowed from Italian
- English terms derived from Italian
- English doublets
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ʊəɹə
- Rhymes:English/ʊəɹə/4 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- en:Music
- English terms with quotations
- Italian terms suffixed with -tura
- Italian 4-syllable words
- Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Italian/ura
- Rhymes:Italian/ura/4 syllables
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Italian countable nouns
- Italian feminine nouns
- it:Music