tessitura

American  

[tes-i-toor-uh, tes-see-too-rah] / ˌtɛs ɪˈtʊər ə, ˌtɛs siˈtu rɑ /

noun

plural

tessituras, tessiture

1. the general pitch level or average range of a vocal or instrumental part in a musical composition.

   an uncomfortably high tessitura.

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tessitura British  

/ ˌtɛsɪˈtʊərə /

noun

1. the general pitch level of a piece of vocal music

   an uncomfortably high tessitura

2. the compass or range of a voice

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Etymology

Origin of tessitura

1890–95; < Italian: literally, texture < Latin textūra; texture

Example Sentences

After singing Caláf, which is a pretty hard tessitura, it’s very demanding.

From Los Angeles Times

Unfortunately, Villazón struggled with the low-for-him tessitura; his voice, tired and frayed, often floated around the center of the pitch when he wasn’t tweaking melodies to suit his range.

From New York Times

The way Adès pitches the violin writing high up, almost daring the soloist to sustain it, recalls the extreme tessitura for the soprano role of Ariel in his opera “The Tempest.”

From New York Times

It’s challenging to learn, because it changes meter every bar pretty much, and the aria has a quite high tessitura; it sits consistently too much up at the top of the staff.

From New York Times

A few things have changed between then and now: the tessitura of the chorus, for instance, and some cuts along with additions.

From New York Times