Multilingual Music Glossary

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Found a word you don't know? No problem. Look it up in the Music Glossary!

We are currently providing explanations for 2484 terms from 12 languages, including English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Latin…

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Some random terms

  • baroque The music of the period circa 1600–1750, directly following the Renaissance and preceding the Classical era. Its style is characterized by rich ornamentation.
  • gospel music Twentieth century sacred music style associated with Protestant African-Americans.
  • solo [Italian] A passage that is to be performed by a single performer.
  • furioso [Italian] “Furious”.
  • intontito [Italian] Dull, numbed, dazed, stunned.
  • schneller [German] Faster.
  • dirge A generic term used for a composition designed specifically for a funeral or in commemoration of the dead.
  • villereccio [Italian] Rustic, rural.
  • ballata [Italian] A type of fourteenth-century italian secular song, similar to the French virelai.
  • recitative A flexible style of vocal delivery employed in opera, oratorio, and cantata and tailored to the accents and rhythms of the text.
  • pienezza [Italian] “Fullness”.
  • pibroch Scottish traditional theme and variation form music to be performed on the bagpipe. This term refers to the more serious, courtly music rather than to dance music and military music.
  • woodwind quintet Standard chamber ensemble consisting of one each of the following: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn (not a woodwind instrument).
  • carol A festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character.
  • pastorale [Italian] Pastoral, country-like.