Definition

Noun: 1. A style of singing in opera, oratorio, and cantata that imitates the rhythms and inflections of natural speech. It is used to deliver narrative text, advance the plot, or express dialogue, often with sparse instrumental accompaniment. It contrasts with more melodic and structured arias. 2. A specific passage of music composed in this style.

Usage

Recitative is a technical term used primarily in the context of classical vocal music, especially from the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic periods. It describes a section where the singer declaims the text in a speech-like manner. It is often used for exposition or dialogue before a character sings a more emotional and lyrical aria.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The opera begins with a long recitative in which the character explains the background of the story.
  • The singer's ability to deliver the recitative with clear diction was highly praised.
  • In Handel's Messiah, the tenor recitative "Comfort ye" introduces the famous aria.

Advanced Usage

• Recitativo secco (dry recitative): A type of recitative accompanied only by a keyboard instrument (like a harpsichord) and sometimes a cello, creating a sparse, speech-like effect common in 18th-century opera.
  • The dialogue in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" is often set as recitativo secco.
• Recitativo accompagnato (accompanied recitative): A more dramatic type of recitative supported by the full orchestra, which provides emotional emphasis and color to the text.
  • The powerful recitativo accompagnato before the aria "Abscheulicher!" in Beethoven's "Fidelio" heightens the dramatic tension.

Variants and Related Words

• Recite (verb): To say aloud a piece of writing from memory. While related in concept (declaiming text), "recite" is a general term, whereas "recitative" is specific to musical composition.
• Aria (noun): A long, accompanied song for a solo voice in an opera or oratorio, typically expressing emotion and featuring a memorable melody. It is the formal, lyrical contrast to recitative.

Synonyms

• Declamation (in a musical context): The delivery of a text in a rhetorical, speech-like style.
• Sprechgesang / Sprechstimme (German): A 20th-century vocal technique between singing and speaking, used by composers like Schoenberg. It is a related but distinct modern concept.

Related Phrases and Idioms

(This term is highly specific to musicology and does not commonly feature in general English idioms or phrasal verbs.)

Noun

1. a vocal passage of narrative text that a singer delivers with natural rhythms of speech