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obbligato |
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obbligato (ŏbləgä`tō) [Ital.,=obligatory], in music, originally a term by which a composer indicated that a certain part was indispensable to the music. Obbligato was thus the direct opposite to ad libitum [Lat.,=at will], which indicated that the part so marked was unessential and might be omitted. Misunderstanding of the term obbligato, however, resulted in a reversal of its meaning; when a violin part, for example, is added to a song it is called a violin obbligato, whereas it may be a superfluous ornament for which ad libitum would be a more precise direction. obbligato, obligato Music 1. not to be omitted in performance 2. an essential part in a score How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| 10) "The best figure I can think of is that the prayer is an obbligato over and above the harmony of the assembly. In general, conductor and orchestra played with gusto and heart, and the music allowed for some impressive obbligato efforts, most notably concertmaster Martin Chalifour (molten in the Overtura) and principal clarinetist Lorin Levee (melancholic in the Canzonetta). Set to Scriabin's Pomme tragique (apparently Nureyev's own choice), this mixture of sobs and spins, a technical display with an unrelated obbligato of anguished hair-tearing, had a startling undertone of symbolism. |
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