In Western classical music, obbligato (Italian pronunciation: [obbliˈɡaːto], also spelled obligato[1]) usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ad libitum. It can also be used, more specifically, to indicate that a passage of music was to be played exactly as written, or only by the specified instrument, without changes or omissions. The word is borrowed from Italian (an adjective meaning mandatory; from Latin obligatus p.p. of obligare, to oblige); the spelling obligato is not acceptable in British English,[2] but it is often used as an alternative spelling in the US.[3] The word can stand on its own, in English, as a noun, or appear as a modifier in a noun phrase (e.g. organ obbligato).
Obbligato includes the idea of independence, as in C.P.E. Bach's 1780 Symphonies "mit zwölf obligaten Stimmen" ("with twelve obbligato parts") by which Bach was referring to the independent woodwind parts he was using for the first time. These parts were also obbligato in the sense of being indispensable.
Continuo
In connection with a keyboard part in the baroque period, obbligato has a very specific meaning: it describes a functional change from a basso continuo part (in which the player decided how to fill in the harmonies unobtrusively) to a fully written part of equal importance to the main melody part.
Contradictory usage
A later use has the contradictory meaning of optional, indicating that a part was not obligatory.[4] A difficult passage in a concerto might be furnished by the editor with an easier alternative called the obbligato; or a work may have a part for one or more solo instruments, marked obbligato (but more commonly and correctly termed an ossia), that is decorative rather than essential; the piece is complete and can be performed without the added part.[5] The traditional term for such a part is ad libitum, or ad lib., or simply optional, since ad lib. may have a wide variety of interpretations.
Contemporary usage
In classical music the term has fallen out of use by modern-day practitioners, as composers, performers and audiences alike have come to see the musical text as paramount in decisions of musical execution. As a result, everything is now seen as obbligato unless explicitly specified otherwise in the score. It is still used to denote an orchestral piece with an instrumental solo part that stands out, but is not as prominent as in a solo concerto, as in Bloch's Concerto Grosso mentioned below. The term is now used mainly to discuss music of the past. One contemporary usage, however, is that by Erik Satie in the third movement of "Embryons desséchés" ("Desiccated Embryos"), where the obbligato consists of around twenty F-major chords played at fortissimo (this is satirising Beethoven's symphonic style).
The term is also used with an entirely different meaning, signifying a countermelody.
Mozart marks "cello obligato" in Don Giovanni in Zerlina's aria "Batti, batti, o bel Masetto".
Beethoven's duo for viola and cello, WoO 32, is subtitled "mit zwei obligaten Augengläsern" ("with two [pairs of] obbligato eyeglasses") which seems to refer to the necessity, at the first performance, of spectacles for both Beethoven and his cellist.
Niels Gade's Fifth Symphony (1852) contains an obbligato piano part.
Heinrich Schütz's "Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore" in Symphoniae sacrae I, 1629 for soprano, tenor, bass and continuo with obbligatocornetto, o violino.
Ernest Bloch's 1925 Concerto Grosso No. 1 for string orchestra with piano obbligato is a neoclassical composition with 20th-century modal harmonies.
John Cage's Solo with Obbligato Accompaniment of Two Voices in Canon, and Six Short Inventions on the Subject of the Solo (1934, 1958)
Malcolm Arnold's A Grand, Grand Overture, Op. 57 (1956) is a 20th-century parody of the late 19th century concert overture, and contains obbligato parts for four rifles, three Hoover vacuum cleaners (two uprights in B♭, one horizontal with detachable sucker in C), and an electric floor polisher in E♭
In Mozart's La clemenza di Tito (1791) there are two arias with obbligato clarinet; basset clarinetobbligato "Parto, ma tu ben mio" (sung by Sesto) and Basset horn obbligato "Non piu di fiori" (sung by Vitellia).
Prominent obbligato writing for flute in particular is not unusual in Romantic opera, for example in the cadenza of the traditional version of the Mad Scene in Lucia di Lammermoor (1835)
^"Obbligato" in Lectionary of Music, Nicolas Slonimsky. McGraw-Hill ISBN0-07-058222-X
^"Obbligato" in Collins Music Encyclopedia, Westrup & Harrison: Collins, London, 1959
January 05, 2023
obbligato, western, classical, music, obbligato, italian, pronunciation, obbliˈɡaːto, also, spelled, obligato, usually, describes, musical, line, that, some, indispensable, performance, opposite, marking, libitum, also, used, more, specifically, indicate, that. In Western classical music obbligato Italian pronunciation obbliˈɡaːto also spelled obligato 1 usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance Its opposite is the marking ad libitum It can also be used more specifically to indicate that a passage of music was to be played exactly as written or only by the specified instrument without changes or omissions The word is borrowed from Italian an adjective meaning mandatory from Latin obligatus p p of obligare to oblige the spelling obligato is not acceptable in British English 2 but it is often used as an alternative spelling in the US 3 The word can stand on its own in English as a noun or appear as a modifier in a noun phrase e g organ obbligato Contents 1 Independence 2 Continuo 3 Contradictory usage 4 Contemporary usage 5 Examples 5 1 Explicit instances 5 2 Implicit instances 6 ReferencesIndependence EditObbligato includes the idea of independence as in C P E Bach s 1780 Symphonies mit zwolf obligaten Stimmen with twelve obbligato parts by which Bach was referring to the independent woodwind parts he was using for the first time These parts were also obbligato in the sense of being indispensable Continuo EditIn connection with a keyboard part in the baroque period obbligato has a very specific meaning it describes a functional change from a basso continuo part in which the player decided how to fill in the harmonies unobtrusively to a fully written part of equal importance to the main melody part Contradictory usage EditA later use has the contradictory meaning of optional indicating that a part was not obligatory 4 A difficult passage in a concerto might be furnished by the editor with an easier alternative called the obbligato or a work may have a part for one or more solo instruments marked obbligato but more commonly and correctly termed an ossia that is decorative rather than essential the piece is complete and can be performed without the added part 5 The traditional term for such a part is ad libitum or ad lib or simply optional since ad lib may have a wide variety of interpretations Contemporary usage EditIn classical music the term has fallen out of use by modern day practitioners as composers performers and audiences alike have come to see the musical text as paramount in decisions of musical execution As a result everything is now seen as obbligato unless explicitly specified otherwise in the score It is still used to denote an orchestral piece with an instrumental solo part that stands out but is not as prominent as in a solo concerto as in Bloch s Concerto Grosso mentioned below The term is now used mainly to discuss music of the past One contemporary usage however is that by Erik Satie in the third movement of Embryons desseches Desiccated Embryos where the obbligato consists of around twenty F major chords played at fortissimo this is satirising Beethoven s symphonic style The term is also used with an entirely different meaning signifying a countermelody Examples EditExplicit instances Edit J S Bach used organ obbligato to show at a glance the importance of the organ part in for example cantata Wer sich selbst erhohet der soll erniedriget werden BWV 47 and cantata Gott ist mein Konig BWV 71 Mozart marks cello obligato in Don Giovanni in Zerlina s aria Batti batti o bel Masetto Beethoven s duo for viola and cello WoO 32 is subtitled mit zwei obligaten Augenglasern with two pairs of obbligato eyeglasses which seems to refer to the necessity at the first performance of spectacles for both Beethoven and his cellist Niels Gade s Fifth Symphony 1852 contains an obbligato piano part Camille Saint Saens s famous symphonic poem Danse Macabre features an obbligato violin Heinrich Schutz s Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore in Symphoniae sacrae I 1629 for soprano tenor bass and continuo with obbligato cornetto o violino John Philip Sousa s march The Stars and Stripes Forever contains a piccolo obbligato in its grandioso Ernest Bloch s 1925 Concerto Grosso No 1 for string orchestra with piano obbligato is a neoclassical composition with 20th century modal harmonies John Cage s Solo with Obbligato Accompaniment of Two Voices in Canon and Six Short Inventions on the Subject of the Solo 1934 1958 Malcolm Arnold s A Grand Grand Overture Op 57 1956 is a 20th century parody of the late 19th century concert overture and contains obbligato parts for four rifles three Hoover vacuum cleaners two uprights in B one horizontal with detachable sucker in C and an electric floor polisher in E Benjamin Britten s 1958 Nocturne for tenor 7 obligato instruments amp strings in which the tenor soloist is accompanied by one or more obbligato instruments in each of the eight movements apart from the first Hector Berlioz s Harold en Italie contains an extensive part for viola obbligatoImplicit instances Edit Trumpet obbligato in J S Bach s cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen BWV 51 A horn obbligato during Sifare s aria Lungi da te mio bene in W A Mozart s opera Mitridate re di Ponto 1770 In Mozart s Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail 1782 there are obbligati for flute oboe violin and cello In Mozart s La clemenza di Tito 1791 there are two arias with obbligato clarinet basset clarinet obbligato Parto ma tu ben mio sung by Sesto and Basset horn obbligato Non piu di fiori sung by Vitellia Piano obbligato in Mozart s concert aria Ch io mi scordi di te Non temer amato bene K 505 Piano obbligato in Rued Langgaard s Third Symphony The Flush of Youth La Melodia Horn obbligato aria Abscheulicher Komm Hoffnung in Beethoven s opera Fidelio Bassoon obbligato in the Quid Sum Miser of Verdi s Requiem An especially ornate violin obbligato appears in the Benedictus of Ludwig van Beethoven s Missa solemnis Corno horn obbligato in Gustav Mahler s Symphony No 5 Prominent obbligato writing for flute in particular is not unusual in Romantic opera for example in the cadenza of the traditional version of the Mad Scene in Lucia di Lammermoor 1835 Bass clarinet obbligato in the third movement of Morton Gould s Latin American Symphonette Clarinet obbligato in Porter Steele s High Society 1901 added by Alphonse Picou Piano obbligato in the third movement of Frederik Magle s symphonic suite Cantabile 2009 References Edit obligato in dictionary at Merriam Webster website Obbligato in The Oxford Dictionary of Music Oxford University Press Michael Kennedy ed 1985 Wordnik Wordnik com Retrieved 14 April 2018 Obbligato in Lectionary of Music Nicolas Slonimsky McGraw Hill ISBN 0 07 058222 X Obbligato in Collins Music Encyclopedia Westrup amp Harrison Collins London 1959 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Obbligato amp oldid 1117737765, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
