obbligato
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌɑːblɪˈɡɑːtoʊ/
- Specialized
:
obligado
- When they were away from home, I always sent my children cards with bulldogs on them because I knew how they missed Hildegard, and I worried about how they slept at night without the obbligato of her canine snoring.
- obbligato instruments
Examples
-
Engage high school instrumentalists who play gender-atypical instruments to play obbligato parts needed in elementary children's choir pieces.
Academic text (2011) -
That's what I always did whenever I was ill- chances are they'll never notice- oh, and then there is that tricky obbligato in the pierrette number.
-
As an obbligato
-
I'm obbligato, too.
-
Many composers have also written for treble voices and obbligato instruments such as flute, violin, or oboe.
Academic text (2000) -
Amputating limbs and organs from thousands, operating without anaesthetics, but with the strength of Wagner providing an obbligato to the screams of the mutants - he was creating!
-
In the symphony, the composer included a beautiful obbligato part for the cello that enhanced the main melody.
-
The choir director insisted that the soprano sing the obbligato line precisely as written to ensure it blended perfectly with the harmonies.
-
During the concert, the flutist performed the obbligato section flawlessly, capturing the audience's attention with its intricate melody.
Synonyms
32
4.2
A musical part that plays behind the main melody
9
5.1
A musical part that supports a singer or solo instrument
1
3.6
Music that plays quietly with a singer or main tune to support it
1
9.9
An important musical part that plays with the main melody exactly as written
How Essential
Surface Forms
Etymology
Obbligato comes from Italian and from the old Latin word obligare, which means 'to bind' or 'to oblige'. It is the same root as the English word obligation, so in music an obbligato part is one you are 'bound' or required to play as written.