recital

[ri-sahyt-l]

noun

1. a musical entertainment given usually by a single performer or by a performer and one or more accompanists.

2. a similar entertainment in a field other than music.

   a dance recital.

3. a program or concert by dance or music students to demonstrate their achievements or progress.

4. an act or instance of reciting.

5. a formal or public delivery of something memorized.

6. a detailed statement.

7. an account, narrative, or description.

   He gave a recital of the things he'd been doing since we'd last seen him.

recital

/ rɪˈsaɪtəl /

noun

1. a musical performance by a soloist or soloists Compare concert

2. the act of reciting or repeating something learned or prepared

3. an account, narration, or description

4. a detailed statement of facts, figures, etc

5. (often plural) law the preliminary statement in a deed showing the reason for its existence and leading up to and explaining the operative part

Other Word Forms

• recitalist noun
• nonrecital noun
• prerecital noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of recital¹

First recorded in 1505–15; recite + -al ²

Synonym Study

See narrative.

Example Sentences

Her father had toured the world, performing on cruise ships as well as giving piano recitals at country hotels, but like many others switched careers to help with the war effort after 1939.

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Those include dance performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and recitals by the Metropolitan Opera.

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Not many people can say they've been given a private piano recital by Sir Anthony Hopkins.

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Three orchestral concerts and a chamber recital at Carnegie Hall would normally engender nothing but pride from the musicians in question and reverence from audiences.

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He says the day would start with Quran recitals at dawn, followed by lessons at a madrassa - religious school - and preaching sessions at the mosque.

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Related Words

• concert 
• musical 
• presentation 
• reading 
• recitation 
• rehearsal