canto fermo

British  

/ 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

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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

The voices of common sense and of high philosophy sometimes cross; but common sense is the unalterable canto fermo and philosophy is the variable counterpoint.

From The Note-Books of Samuel Butler by Samuel Butler

I send you a specimen of the mode in which they render the canto fermo, regardless both of the words and the sense.

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

Nor were these two principles, the canon and the canto fermo, likely, by combination in their strictest forms, to produce better artistic results than separately.

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

In life we have destiny from which there is no escape; in counterpoint we have the canto fermo of which not a note may be altered. 

From Castellinaria and Other Sicilian Diversions by Henry Festing Jones

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