Melisma (Greek: μέλισμα, mélisma, lit.'song'; from μέλος, melos, 'song, melody', plural: melismata) is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, in which each syllable of text is matched to a single note. An informal term for melisma is a vocal run.[2] The term roulade is also sometimes used interchangeably with melisma.[3][4]
The term melisma may be used to describe music of any genre, including baroque singing, opera, and later gospel. Within the tradition of Religious Jewish music, melisma is still commonly used in the chanting of Torah, readings from the Prophets, and in the body of a service.[5]
The use of melisma is a common feature of artists such as Deniece Williams, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston, Céline Dion, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, among others.[7][8] The use of melismatic vocals in pop music slowly grew in the 1980’s. In the following two decades, melismatic vocals became the standard used to judge a singer’s skill. This is partially why singers who are proficient in this singing style consistently make the lists of best singers of all time. Deniece Williams topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1984, with "Let's Hear It for the Boy" with her melismatic vocals. Although other artists used melisma before, Houston's rendition of Dolly Parton's ballad "I Will Always Love You" pushed the technique into the mainstream in the 1990s.[7] The trend in R&B singers is considered to have been popularized by Mariah Carey's song "Vision of Love", which was released and topped the U.S. charts in 1990, and went on to be certified gold.[9][10][11]
As late as 2007, melismatic singers such as Leona Lewis were still scoring big hits, but around 2008–2009, this trend reverted to how it was prior to Carey, Dion and Houston's success – singers with less showy styles such as Kesha and Cheryl Cole began to outsell new releases by Carey and Christina Aguilera, ending nearly two decades of the style's dominance of pop-music vocals.[6]
The traditional French carol tune to which the hymn "Angels We Have Heard on High" is usually sung (and "Angels from the Realms of Glory" in Great Britain), contains one of the most well known melismatic sequences in Christian hymn music. Twice in its refrain, the "o" of the word "Gloria" is held through 16 different notes.
George Frideric Handel's Messiah contains numerous examples of melisma, as in the following excerpt from the chorus "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" (Part I, No. 12). The soprano and alto lines engage in a 57-note melisma on the word "born".
^ abBrowne, David (December 26, 2010). "Trilling Songbirds Clip Their Wings". The New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
^ abEveritt, Lauren (February 15, 2012). "Whitney Houston and the art of melisma". BBC News. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "'Whoa, Nelly!' review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
^"'Vision of Love' sets off melisma trend". The Village Voice. February 4, 2003. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
^Frere-Jones, Sasha (April 3, 2006). "On Top: Mariah Carey's record-breaking career". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
^"100 Greatest Singers of All Time: #79. Mariah Carey". Rolling Stone. November 27, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
External links
January 26, 2023
melisma, greek, μέλισμα, mélisma, song, from, μέλος, melos, song, melody, plural, melismata, singing, single, syllable, text, while, moving, between, several, different, notes, succession, music, sung, this, style, referred, melismatic, opposed, syllabic, whic. Melisma Greek melisma melisma lit song from melos melos song melody plural melismata is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic as opposed to syllabic in which each syllable of text is matched to a single note An informal term for melisma is a vocal run 2 The term roulade is also sometimes used interchangeably with melisma 3 4 Syllabic and melismatic text setting Jesus Christ Is Ris n Today Methodist Hymn Book 1933 No 204 1 Play help info Contents 1 History 1 1 General 1 2 Prevalence in western popular music 2 Examples 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditThe examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this section discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new section as appropriate November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message General Edit The term melisma may be used to describe music of any genre including baroque singing opera and later gospel Within the tradition of Religious Jewish music melisma is still commonly used in the chanting of Torah readings from the Prophets and in the body of a service 5 Today melisma is commonly used in Middle Eastern African and African American music Irish sean nos singing and flamenco Melisma is also commonly featured in Western popular music 6 Prevalence in western popular music Edit The use of melisma is a common feature of artists such as Deniece Williams Stevie Wonder Luther Vandross Whitney Houston Celine Dion Mariah Carey Beyonce Christina Aguilera among others 7 8 The use of melismatic vocals in pop music slowly grew in the 1980 s In the following two decades melismatic vocals became the standard used to judge a singer s skill This is partially why singers who are proficient in this singing style consistently make the lists of best singers of all time Deniece Williams topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1984 with Let s Hear It for the Boy with her melismatic vocals Although other artists used melisma before Houston s rendition of Dolly Parton s ballad I Will Always Love You pushed the technique into the mainstream in the 1990s 7 The trend in R amp B singers is considered to have been popularized by Mariah Carey s song Vision of Love which was released and topped the U S charts in 1990 and went on to be certified gold 9 10 11 As late as 2007 melismatic singers such as Leona Lewis were still scoring big hits but around 2008 2009 this trend reverted to how it was prior to Carey Dion and Houston s success singers with less showy styles such as Kesha and Cheryl Cole began to outsell new releases by Carey and Christina Aguilera ending nearly two decades of the style s dominance of pop music vocals 6 Examples Edit Angels We Have Heard on High source source Chorus of U S Army Band a cappella Problems playing this file See media help The traditional French carol tune to which the hymn Angels We Have Heard on High is usually sung and Angels from the Realms of Glory in Great Britain contains one of the most well known melismatic sequences in Christian hymn music Twice in its refrain the o of the word Gloria is held through 16 different notes George Frideric Handel s Messiah contains numerous examples of melisma as in the following excerpt from the chorus For Unto Us a Child Is Born Part I No 12 The soprano and alto lines engage in a 57 note melisma on the word born Play help info See also EditArabic maqam RouladeReferences Edit Shepherd John 2003 Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Performance and Production p 565 ISBN 978 0 8264 6322 7 Katzif Mike January 11 2007 How American Idol Uses and Abuses Melisma National Public Radio Retrieved October 7 2019 Piero Weiss Richard Taruskin 2007 Glossary Roulade Music in the Western World Cengage Learning p 555 ISBN 9781111793449 Louis C Elson ed 1911 Melisma Modern Music and Musicians Part Two Encyclopedia University Society p 803 ISBN 9781404706750 Idelsohn Abraham Zevi 1929 Jewish Music Its Historical Development ISBN 978 0 486 27147 7 page needed a b Browne David December 26 2010 Trilling Songbirds Clip Their Wings The New York Times Retrieved October 7 2019 a b Everitt Lauren February 15 2012 Whitney Houston and the art of melisma BBC News Retrieved October 7 2019 Erlewine Stephen Thomas Whoa Nelly review AllMusic Retrieved October 7 2019 Vision of Love sets off melisma trend The Village Voice February 4 2003 Retrieved October 7 2019 Frere Jones Sasha April 3 2006 On Top Mariah Carey s record breaking career The New Yorker Retrieved October 7 2019 100 Greatest Singers of All Time 79 Mariah Carey Rolling Stone November 27 2008 Retrieved October 7 2019 External links EditAmerican Heritage Dictionary of the English Language entry on melisma Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary entry on melisma Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Melisma amp oldid 1127827261, 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