tessitura

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Italian tessitura. Doublet of texture.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

tessitura (countable and uncountable, plural tessituras or tessiture)

  1. (music) The most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a singer or musical instrument; the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding timbre.
    Hyponyms: soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, counter tenor, tenor, baritone, bass
    Coordinate term: compass
    • 1995, Anthony Burgess, Byrne:
      Byrne shrugged. He started writing a bravura / Opera based on Cleopatra’s death, / Exploiting all Maria’s tessitura, / With a high F before her final breath.
    • 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador, published 2007, page 257:
      Anne's talented voice made the lines I had written swoop, howl, and whine through an authentically Thatcherite tessitura [...].
    • 2014, Jane Streeton, Philip Raymond, Singing on Stage, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 146:
      In classical voice training, and in the world of classical singing, voices are divided into categories dependent on timbre or tonal colour and tessitura or comfortable average pitch range.

Translations[edit]

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From tessere +‎ -tura. Compare Spanish tejedura, Portuguese tecedura, Romanian țesătură, Friulian tiessidure.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /tes.siˈtu.ra/
  • Rhymes: -ura
  • Hyphenation: tes‧si‧tù‧ra

Noun[edit]

tessitura f (plural tessiture)

  1. weaving
  2. weaving mill
  3. (music) tessitura (most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or musical instrument)

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • → English: tessitura
  • → German: Tessitur
  • → Spanish: tesitura

Further reading[edit]

  • tessitura in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=tessitura&oldid=78276872"