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 • Jun. 5, 2024

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 • Nov. 21, 2022

Instead, voice type is a function of tessitura and vocal weight — a woman singing low almost always sounds like a woman singing low, not like a tenor.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2021

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

A song’s range concerns all of the notes in a song from lowest to highest, while the tessitura concerns the part of the register that contains the most tones of that melody.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin