canto fermo

British  

/ ˈkæntəs ˈfɜːməs, ˈkæntəʊ ˈfɜːməʊ /

noun

1. a melody that is the basis to which other parts are added in polyphonic music

2. the traditional plainchant as prescribed by use and regulation in the Christian Church

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Etymology

Origin of canto fermo

Italian, from Medieval Latin, literally: fixed song

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

canto fermo

When the canto fermo is in notes of equal length and is sung without intermission, it is of course as rigid a mechanical device as an acrostic.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 2 "Constantine Pavlovich" to "Convention" by Various

There is really nothing in these art-forms which is not continuous with the universal practice of writing counterpoint on a canto fermo.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 3 "Chitral" to "Cincinnati" by Various

She and her husband tuned their scythes in two-part, note-against-note counterpoint; but I could hear that it was she who was the canto fermo and he who was the counterpoint. 

From The Note-Books of Samuel Butler by Butler, Samuel

The effect of the canto fermo, accompanied by a serpent, those who have not heard it could scarcely conceive, and clumsy bells are ringing all the time.

From Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy from Italy and Switzerland by Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix

He exercised his contrapuntal ingenuity by devising schemes for circumventing this troublesome passage in the canto fermo of his life without breaking any of the rules, and finally hit upon the device of running away. 

From Castellinaria and Other Sicilian Diversions by Jones, Henry Festing