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; see texture

Explanation

If you're a singer with a remarkably wide tessitura, the range of notes that you can sing without straining is impressive. You could comfortably sing a piece of music with very high and very low notes. Without training, the average person’s tessitura is only about six consecutive notes. That doesn't mean that they can't sing other notes at all; it just means that singing lower or higher notes is a strain. A piece or passage of music also has a tessitura, the range that a singer's voice stays within for most of the piece. A piece with a low tessitura has notes that are mostly in the lower part of a singer's range; one with a high tessitura has notes mostly in the higher part of a singer's range.

Example Sentences

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 • Apr. 26, 2023

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 • Mar. 24, 2023

Maxim Mironov proves capable of handling the high tenor tessitura while suavely sashaying with his scarf.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2018

She also struggled, as many cellists do, with the treacherously high tessitura of the sixth suite, which was originally written for a five-stringed instrument.

From Washington Post • Oct. 17, 2016

This smaller range is called the tessitura of the part.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones