incidental music

American  

noun

1. music intended primarily to point up or accompany parts of the action of a play or to serve as transitional material between scenes.

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incidental music British  

noun

1. background music for a film, television programme, etc

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Etymology

Origin of incidental music

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Originally the concert was to include a staged performance by director Alberto Arvelo of Mendelssohn’s incidental music to “Midsummer’s Night Dream” with vocal soloists and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2023

The evening opened with “The Consecration of the House,” an overture Beethoven wholly revised in 1822 from incidental music originally composed a decade earlier for August von Kotzebue’s play, “The Ruins of Athens.”

From Washington Post • Jan. 28, 2022

The calliope-heavy incidental music sounds like a carousel.

From Salon • Dec. 5, 2021

When pop stars weren't available, he went back to his first job - writing incidental music for films and TV shows.

From BBC • Aug. 26, 2021

John Liptrot Hatton, born 1809 at Margate, wrote an overture and incidental music for Henry VIII., dedicated to Mrs Charles Kean, and performed at the Princess's.

From Shakespeare and Music by Wilson, Christopher