cantabile
Americanadjective
adverb
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of cantabile
1720–30; < Italian < Late Latin cantābilis worth singing, equivalent to Latin cantā ( re ) to sing ( see cant 1) + -bilis -ble
Explanation
If someone plays a piece of music cantabile — perhaps on the piano, violin, or flute — it sounds clear and smoothly flowing, like a voice singing. A cantabile passage is usually in a medium tempo and full of feeling. Cantabile means "singable" in Italian. When you see this instruction in a piece of music, it usually means the melody and style are changing, from fairly fast and complicated to something simpler and with a clear melody — something that sounds easy to sing. The tempo is more manageable by the average singer, and the notes are not too far apart in pitch. Even if not sung, a cantabile passage is played on instruments in a smooth, flowing way that suggests a singing voice.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That opulence was readily apparent in the ceaseless flow of cantabile melodies in Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony.
From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
This led to Florence Price’s wistfully lyrical Andante cantabile movement from her 1935 String Quartet No. 2, which came across with glowing richness in this version for string ensemble.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2021
Telemundo, using the marketing power of many NBCUniversal networks, wants to attract viewers with a different sound: Cantor’s cantabile con brio.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 11, 2018
He contrived a thrilling balance between cantabile and cutting edge, with a daring line in tiny pianissimos.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 13, 2011
It’s hard to play a cantabile when your mind is a tornado, Isa thought as she started over again.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
