tutti
Americanadjective
-
all; all the voices or instruments together.
-
intended for or performed by all (or most of ) the voices or instruments together, as a passage or movement in concert music (opposed to solo).
noun
plural
tuttis-
a tutti passage or movement.
-
the tonal product or effect of a tutti performance.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of tutti
1715–25; < Italian, plural of tutto all
Explanation
The musical instruction tutti means "all together." It's used when all the performers in an orchestra, choir, or ensemble should play the marked passage simultaneously. Tutti is Italian for "all." It usually comes up in a piece of music after a passage where just one or a few of the voices or instruments have been playing, while the others were silent. Then, where it says tutti, the whole choir or orchestra begins singing or playing, so all the different parts are heard in full harmony. This usually means the music is louder, too. It can create a very effective contrast!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But repeating his new mantra about the church as a place of welcome, he said “tutti, tutti, tutti” must be allowed in: Everyone, everyone, everyone.
From Washington Times • Oct. 4, 2023
For example, the masculine form "tutti" is routinely used for "everyone", rather than the feminine "tutte".
From Reuters • Mar. 20, 2023
Yet he also relished hairpin turns during which the music throttled into tutti writing.
From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2022
Langrée’s palms tensed into claws as Ravel’s final five bars reared up, its bombastic tutti collapsing into the arms of an audience that roared its approval.
From Washington Post • May 20, 2022
After the C minor concerto, Beethoven grasped the true function of the opening tutti and enlarged it to his new purposes.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 7 "Columbus" to "Condottiere" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
