recitative
1pertaining to or of the nature of recital.
Origin of recitative
1Words Nearby recitative
Other definitions for recitative (2 of 2)
of the nature of or resembling recitation or declamation.
a style of vocal music intermediate between speaking and singing.
a passage, part, or piece in this style.
Origin of recitative
2- Also rec·i·ta·tif [res-i-tuh-teef] /ˌrɛs ɪ təˈtif/ .
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use recitative in a sentence
It may be compared with the invention of recitative in the beginning of the seventeenth century.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music | David Binning MonroThe recitative is given with increased vigor, and the chorus swells with increasing volume.
The Boys of '61 | Charles Carleton Coffin.The piece frequently commences with a recitative by one voice, and at the end of the first line the chorus joins.
The Boys of '61 | Charles Carleton Coffin.Then Mrs. Jack Evarts whispered so audibly to a man at her side that she broke in upon Margaret's clear recitative.
The Butterfly House | Mary E. Wilkins FreemanThe reading of each couplet by the minister before it was sung seemed to him a sort of recitative.
Duffels | Edward Eggleston
British Dictionary definitions for recitative (1 of 2)
/ (ˌrɛsɪtəˈtiːv) /
a passage in a musical composition, esp the narrative parts in an oratorio, set for one voice with either continuo accompaniment only or full accompaniment, reflecting the natural rhythms of speech
Origin of recitative
1British Dictionary definitions for recitative (2 of 2)
/ (rɪˈsaɪtətɪv) /
of or relating to recital
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
Cultural definitions for recitative
[ (res-i-tuh-teev) ]
A part of a cantata, opera, or oratorio in which singers converse, describe action, or declaim. It moves the action forward between the high musical moments. Recitatives are distinguished from arias, which are more expressive and musically more elaborate. Recitatives usually have only one syllable of text for each note of music, and the accompaniment by instruments is often very simple.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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