arioso

American  

[ahr-ee-oh-soh, ar-, ah-ryaw-saw] / ˌɑr iˈoʊ soʊ, ˌær-, ɑˈryɔ sɔ /

adjective

1. in the manner of an air or melody.

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noun

plural

ariosos

1. an arioso composition or section.

arioso British  

/ ˌɑːrɪˈəʊzəʊ, ˌæ- /

noun

1. music a recitative with the lyrical quality of an aria

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Etymology

Origin of arioso

1735–45; < Italian: literally, songlike. See aria, -ose ¹

Example Sentences

We began with Monteverdi’s “The Coronation of Poppea,” which has long stretches of dramatically charged arioso — a quasi-melodic style that requires crisp delivery of the text.

From New York Times • Jan. 22, 2020

Recitative and arioso passages allow the singers to barrel through words at a tremendous clip.

From Washington Post • Jul. 12, 2015

The obbligato viole d’amore parts in the bass arioso “Betrachte, meine Seel’,” were ravishingly played.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 2, 2014

Her vocal lines are mostly routine arioso, while the ensemble writing is most effective when thinned to a single line – a teetering piano solo, perhaps, or a thrummed cello.

From The Guardian • May 25, 2010

Then it degenerates somewhat into an arioso, almost Italian.

From Contemporary American Composers Being a Study of the Music of This Country, Its Present Conditions and Its Future, with Critical Estimates and Biographies of the Principal Living Composers; and an Abundance of Portraits, Fac-simile Musical Autographs, and Compositions by Hughes, Rupert