obbligato

[ ob-li-gah-toh; Italian awb-blee-gah-taw ]

adjective
  1. (used as a musical direction) obligatory or indispensable; so important that it cannot be omitted.

noun,plural ob·bli·ga·tos, ob·bli·ga·ti [ob-li-gah-tee; Italian awb-blee-gah-tee]. /ˌɒb lɪˈgɑ ti; Italian ˌɔb bliˈgɑ ti/.
  1. an obbligato part or accompaniment.

  2. a continuing or persistent subordinate or background motif.

  1. a subordinate part of a solo.

Origin of obbligato

1
1715–25; <Italian: bound, obliged <Latin obligātus;see obligate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use obbligato in a sentence

  • The obbligatos in his symphonies are a very different matter; they go beyond accepted technical boundaries.

    Violin Mastery | Frederick H. Martens
  • Then there were more solos and duets, with obbligatos for the violin.

    The Martian | George Du Maurier

British Dictionary definitions for obbligato

obbligato

adjective
  1. not to be omitted in performance

nounplural -tos or -ti (-tiː)
  1. an essential part in a score: with oboe obbligato

Origin of obbligato

1
C18: from Italian, from obbligare to oblige

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012