pastorale
Americannoun
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an opera, cantata, or the like, with a pastoral subject.
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a piece of music suggestive of pastoral life.
noun
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a composition evocative of rural life, characterized by moderate compound duple or quadruple time and sometimes a droning accompaniment
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a musical play based on a rustic story, popular during the 16th century
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pastorale
1715–25; < Italian, noun use of pastorale pastoral
Explanation
A pastorale is a piece of music that makes the listener think of simple, old-fashioned days or of life in the country. Some pastorales have a rural subject, while others use familiar musical themes to evoke this feeling. A true pastorale is a simple opera that takes place in the countryside or on a farm. Other musical pastorales recall earlier forms of music and tend to be very slow, with droning bass notes. Baroque pastorales include parts of Handel's "Messiah" and a piece by Bach called "Pastorale." The word comes from pastoral, originally "pertaining to shepherds," from the Latin pastoralis, "of herdsmen."
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.
He scored the opening scenes, which paint a portrait of the vibrant, thriving Dahomey village, with African pastorale — bouncing a string orchestra along with a gentle groove on regional instruments including kalimba and kora.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2022
With the Friends’ full cooperation, he helped carry “The Wheel” far from its usual country-ish territory, toward a kind of extraterrestrial pastorale with glimmers of Terry Riley’s Minimalism and Miles Davis’s “In a Silent Way.”
From New York Times • Apr. 16, 2014
But unlike that idyllic pastorale — or even Tero Saarinen’s more recent, wonderful dance “Borrowed Light” — “Angel Reapers” offers a layered, conflicted, even tortured look at its subject.
From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2011
The theme, McGregor says, is anti-war, echoing Tippett's pacifism, and will align the English pastorale of the music with a desolate wasteland of Gerrard's creation, based on an army-training area in Kenya.
From The Guardian • Jan. 2, 2011
Et maintenant il lui faut, � cause de ma charge pastorale, supporter les mille affaires des hommes du si�cle et se souiller dans cette poussi�re.
From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.
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.
