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O
(Italian) or, as, either, (for example, violino o flauto (Italian: violin or flute))
(Italian) O!, oh!
the letter, or a circle, used by Medieval scribes to denote triple meter, used because the perfection of the circle mirrored the perfection of the number 3. The imperfect, or common time, was indicated by a semi-circle, looking very much like the letter 'C'
placed over a note in a stringed instrument part, a circle indicates that the note is a harmonic
(Korean) a percussion instrument in the form of a large hollow wooden tiger on which a player scrapes a bamboo stick across its teeth
indicating the presence of a diminished fifth in a chord
placed above or below a note-head, indicating a harmonic, for example, in music for bowed string instruments, or an open string
placed above or below a note-head, indicating an unstopped or 'open' note, for example, in music for French horn
Oak
(German Eiche, French Chéne, Dutch Eik, European Species: Quercus robur (Common oak), Q. petraea (Sessile oak), Q. cerris (Turkish Oak), Q. ilex (Holm, Holly, or Evergreen Oak), American Species: Q. alba (White oak), Q. rubra (Northern red oak), Q. falcata (Southern Red Oak): Average Weight: ranges from 46 to 52 pounds per cubic foot) Oak is probably the most common period wood and was used for most applications. The heartwood is weather resistant due to the tannins in the wood. There are several varieties of oak, all of which hybridize freely, so that there are few "pure" strains. Second-growth oak is favoured for most applications due to its higher strength. The Turkish and Holm oaks are native to the Mediterranean lands. Holm Oak is unusually heavy at around 60 pounds per cubic foot. White Oak (Q. alba etc.) is probably the closest American equivalent to European oak (Q. robur) in appearance and working characteristics. Unlike the American oaks, European oak is a good carving wood. Acorns were a major source of grazing for pigs. Oak is probably the most common tree in England, although the English favoured imported Baltic Oak for interior wainscotting and other purposes
a 320 estate bought by the Bruderhof as their community at Ashton Keynes expanded. The purchase was referred to the Home Office when local landowners complained about the sale of land to Germans. The Home Office supported the Bruderhof, but following further harrasment the community decided to move to Parguay
o algo así
(Spanish) or something like that
Oasi
(Italian f.) oasis
o así
(Spanish) or so, or thereabout (time, period, date, quantity, etc.)
Ob
abbreviation of Oboe (German: oboe - hautbois (French))
Ob.
abbreviation of 'oboe', obiit (Latin: he/she died ... always followed by a date), obiter (Latin: in passing)
ob
abbreviation of opera buffa (Italian), 'oboe'
obb.
abbreviated form of obbligato (Italian)
obbediente
(Italian) obedient, dutiful, submissive
Obbedienza
(Italian f.) obedience
obbedire (a)
(Italian) to obey, to submit (to), to be subject (to), to yield (to), to respond (to), to comply (with)
obbl
abbreviation of obbligato (Italian)
obbligante
(Italian) obliging, binding
obbligare
(Italian) to oblige, to compel, to bind
obbligarsi
(Italian) to bind onself, to undertake, to be surety (for)
obbligato
(Italian) or obligato, Obligat (German), obligé (French), literally 'necessary', 'indispensible', 'bound' (obligated) or 'obligated', although sometimes used to mean the reverse which should be marked ad libitum, i.e. 'may be omitted' or 'optional'
(Italian) to encumber (with debts, etc.), to burden, to load (burden)
Oberarm
(German m.) upper arm
Oberbegriff
(German m.) generic term
Oberbügel
(German m.) upper bout, courbe supérieure(French f.), sagoma superiore (Italian f.), volta superiore (Italian f.)
Oberdeck
(German n.) upper deck
Oberdominante
(German f.) dominant (i.e. the dominant above the tonic)
Oberek
also known as obertas (common in the nineteenth century), or ober (the name used less frequently), is - in its stage versions performed by Polish folk dance ensembles - the most vivacious and acrobatic of the so-called five national dances (with polonaise, mazur, kujawiak, krakowiak). The oberek originated in the villages of Mazowsze in central Poland; it is danced by couples to instrumental music in triple meter. The name oberek is derived from the Polish verb 'to spin'. The dance's main movement is rotational: the dancers spin and twirl around the room. The term obertas appeared for the first time in 1679, in a book by Korczynski, Lanczafty. Oberek belongs to the group of dances which feature the so-called mazurka rhythms. These dances include kujawiak (the slowest), mazur or mazurka (in a moderate tempo), andoberek (the fastest dance of this group). All three dances are of peasant origin, but due to contract with town people and the nobility, they all underwent considerable changes, especially the mazur and kujawiak
an analog polyphonic synthesizer, the first Oberheim synthesizer created with internal prewired modules and not with the bulky SEM modules. Because of this, it was more functional for live performance, and therefore more portable. It was introduced in 1979 and was discontinued in 1981. It came in four, six, and eight-voice models
Oberheim OB-X from which this information has been taken
Oberhemd
(German n.) (man's) shirt
Oberin
(German f.) matron, mother superior
oberirdisch
(German) surface, above ground
Oberkellner
(German m.) head waiter
Oberkiefer
(German m.) upper jaw
Oberkörper
(German m.) the upper part of the body
Oberlicht
(German n.) overhead light, skylight, fanlight
Oberlippe
(German f.) upper lip
Obermanual
(German n.) the upper manual, or row of keys
Obersattel
(German m.) upper nut, capotasto (Italian m.), sillet du haut (French m.), on the violin, etc., the piece of ebony, ivory or some other hard material, that lies at the scroll end of the fingerboard and which has grooves cut into its surface each groove locating one of the strings that passes over it
Oberschenkel
(German m.) thigh
Oberschicht
(German f.) upper class
Oberschule
(German f.) grammar school
Oberschwester
(German f.) (medical) sister
Oberseite
(German f.) upper side, right side
Oberspielleiter
(German m.) senior producer in a German opera company, sometimes called Generalintendant
Oberst.
abbreviated form of Oberstimme (German: the highest part)
oberste (m.), oberster (f.), oberstes (n.)
(German) top, highest, supreme, first
Oberstimme
(German f.) the highest part (usually the treble part), first voice
Oberstück
(German n.) wing, tenor joint, upper joint
Oberstufe
(German f.) upper school
Obertas
a quick (even wild), triple time, round dance from Poland
Obertass
a quick (even wild), triple time, round dance from Poland
Obertaste
(German f.) black key (on a piano, organ, etc.)
Oberteil
(German n.) the upper part, top
Obertheil
(German n.) the upper part
Oberton (s.), Obertöne (pl.)
(German m.) overtone, upper partial
Obertongesang
(German m.) overtone singing, overtone chanting, harmonic singing, harmonic chant
Obertonreihe
(German f.) harmonic series
Obertonstruktur
(German f.) overtone-structure
Obertura
(Spanish f.) overture, ouverture (French)
Obertura de concierto
(Spanish f.) concert overture
Obertura francesa
(Spanish f.) French overture, often associated with Lully
Obertura italiana
(Spanish f.) Italian overture, often associated with Scarlatti
Obertura teatral
(Spanish f.) overture to a ballet or an opera
Oberw.
abbreviated form of Oberwerk (German: upper manual)
Oberweite
(German f.) chest size (for a man), bust size (for a woman)
Oberwellenverzerrung
(German f.) harmonic wave distortion
Oberwerk
(German n.) swell organ, the upper manual, the highest row of keys
Obese
fat, corpulent
Obesita
(Italian f.) obesity, fatness, corpulence
Obesity
abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight, although the term is used more generally to mean corpulence or fleshiness
obeso
(Italian.) obese, fat, corpulent
obetonat Taktslag
(Swedish) weak beat
obgleich
(German) although
Obhut
(German f.) care
Obi
wide Japanese sash belt worn with a kimono
Obiapá
see biankomeko
Obice (s.), Obici (p.)
(Italian m.) grenade, shell (munition), howitzer
obiettare (che)
(Italian) to object (that)
Obiettivita
(Italian f.) objectivity, objectiveness
Obiettivo
(Italian m.) objective, object glass, lens, aim, object
obiettivo
(Italian) objective
Obietto
(Italian m.) object, aim, purpose
Obiezione
(Italian f.) objection, demur
obig
(German) above
Obiit
(Latin) he/she died ... always followed by a date
Obiit sine prole
(Latin) he/she died without issue (used in genealogical works and family trees)
Obiter
(Latin) (spoken) by the way, in passing, incidentally
Obiter dictum (s.), Obiter dicta (pl.)
(Latin, 'said in passing') parenthetical remark, an incidental remark, something said [dictum] in passing [obiter], (in law) an incidental and collateral opinion on a legal point that is uttered by a judge but which does not constitute part of the evidence or judgment
Obituario
(Italian m.) obituary, register of deaths
Obituary
a notice of the death of a person, usually published in a newspaper, written or commissioned by the newspaper, and usually including a short biography
a form of pronouns used as the objects of prepositions and verbs. Examples include the pronouns him, her, and them. Modern English uses a single objective form to mark what originally had been two grammatical cases - the accusative and the dative
a product of the American movement, objectivism, an object poem has no standard format. William Carlos Williams stated the essence of objectivism: "no ideas but in things"
Objekt
(German n.) object, property
Objekt der Forschung
(German n.) object of research
Objektiv
(German n.) lens
objektiv
(German) objective
Objektivität
(German f.) objectivity
Objet d'art
(French) a work of art in any medium (usually of small size and suitable for display in a cabinet)
Objet de piété
(French) a devotional object such as a statuette or crucifix
Objet de vertu
(pseudo-French) a work of art (the phrase has no meaning in French)
Objeto
(Spanish m.) article, object
Objeto de artesanía (s.), Objetos de artesanía (pl.)
(Spanish m.) hand-made article, craftwork, handicraft
Objet sonore
(French) a term coined by Pierre Schaeffer, a generalization of the concept of a musical note, which is any sound from any source which in duration is on the time scale of 100 ms to several seconds
Sound object from which this information has been taken
Objet trouvé
(French) a natural object (a piece of stone, wood, etc.) or an artefact (not intended as a work of art) supposed to possess aesthetic significance (a significance recognised by the finder)
Objurgate
to administer, deliver or give a harsh rebuke
Objurgation
a harsh rebuke, a scolding
Objurgatory
strongly rebuking or scolding
obl
abbreviation of obligat(e) (German: obbligato part - voix (partie) obligée (French)), opéra-ballet (French)
(Italian f.) oblation, offering, donation, presenting of bread and wine in the Eucharist
Oblente
standing drum, the master drum of the Ga people of Ghana
obliare
(Italian) to forget
obligat
(German) inevitable, obbligato
obligates Akkompagnement
(German n.) obbligato accompaniment
Obligato
(Engish, from Italian obbligato) the older spelling of obbligato
obligatorisch
(German) obligatory
obligé
(French) obbligato
obliger ... à
(French) to require ... to
Oblio
(Italian m.) forgetfulness, oblivion
oblioso
(Italian) forgetful, oblivious
Oblique form
the various forms or cases of any word in a declined language except the nominative form or nominative case. The term "oblique" to describe this comes from medieval grammar exercises, where a young monk would list all the declensions of a Latin word at an oblique angle except for the nominative form. Thus, these forms became known as "oblique forms."
a reference to the stringing on pianofortes, a corde oblique (Italian), schrägsaitig (German), à cordes obliques (French), a cuerdas oblicuas (Spanish)
Oblique motion
moto obliquo (Italian), Seitenbewegung (German), mouvement oblique (French), zijdelingse beweging (Dutch), a term used in counterpoint to describe when one voice is stationary and the other ascends or descends
obliquo
(Italian) oblique
obliquus
(Latin) oblique
Obmann (s.), Obmänner (pl.)
(German) (jury) foreman, (sport) referee
Oboa
(Slovenia) Istrian shawm
Oboe
(Italian m., English, German f., Spanish m.) hautboy (archaic), Hoboe (German f., archaic), hautbois (French m.), a woodwind instrument that looks very similar to the clarinet except it has a mouthpiece made from a double reed. Professional oboe players usually make their own reeds out of a piece of cane, which they fold and fasten with a metal staple. The folded end is then cut off leaving two separate blades. These blades are scraped thin so that they will vibrate when you blow into them
the oboe was invented in the seventeenth century by Jean Hotteterre and Michel Philidor and first used at the court of Louis XIV. The oboe's name in French is 'hautbois' (literally 'principal wood'), very appropriate since the contemporary woodwind section of the western orchestra was developed around this instrument. The ancestor of the Western oboe was another reed instrument called the 'shalmey' or 'shawm', which had finger-holes but no keys. Similar double reed instruments are found in Asian and Arabic countries. For example, a Japanese oboe called the hichiriki, operates on the same principle of a vibrating double reed
the family is extensive and, as well as the standard concert oboe, includes E flat oboe-musette, oboe d'amore, English horn (cor anglais), oboe da caccia, bass oboe, Heckelphone, bassoon, double bassoon (contrabassoon), Sarrusophone, alos, racket, curtal, crumhorn, bass shawm and pommer
the oboe family members, their tessituras, and where you might hear them:
Eb (piccolo) oboe-musette
e flat above middle c
Bruno Maderna, Solo for musette, oboe, oboe d'amore and English horn, for one performer (1971)
Bb (treble) oboe
standard concert oboe, b flat below middle c
the most widely used member, used in many baroque works and more recently as the Duck in Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev
oboe d'amore
alto/mezzosoprano member, g sharp below middle c
in baroque works and more recently in works by Debussy, R.Strauss, Ravel, Koechlin, Delius, Henze & Takemitsu
oboe da caccia
tenor member, e flat below middle c
used during the Renaissance period but superceded by the cor anglais or English horn
English horn or cor anglais
tenor member, e flat below middle c
Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 (New World), Berlioz, Roman Carnival Overture, Berlioz, Symphony fantastique, Falla, The Three-cornered Hat, Franck, Symphony in D-Minor, Debussy, Nocturnes, Strauss, Ein Heldenleben, Wagner, Tristan und Isolde
bass/baritone oboe
bass/baritone member, one octave below the standard oboe
Holst's The Planets
contrabass oboe
contrabass member, two octaves below standard oboe
solo parts written for Heckelphone in Richard Strauss's Salomé, and Elektra, as well as his Alpensinfonie and Josefslegende. Hindemith's Trio for Viola, Heckelphone and Piano, Op. 47 is one of the best works composed for the instrument (or for viola, for that matter). Other works with Heckelphone parts include, Dollar Symphony in C Minor by Kurt Atterberg, Symphony No. 1 by A. Bax; Fennimore and Gerda, Paris, and the Dance Rhapsody by F. Delius; Sonnengeist by R. Klose; 3rd Symphony in F by Franz Moser; Moloch and Mona Lisa by Max Schillings; the London Symphony by Vaughan-Williams; and the Symphony No. 3 by F. Weingartner [entry corrected by C.F. Nieweg]
bassoon fagott
two octaves below the standard oboe
widely used in the orchestra; Grandpa in Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev
contrabassoon contrafagott double bassoon
one octave below the bassoon
widely used in late Romantic orchestral works by R. Strauss and others
(Spanish m./f.) a person who plays the oboe, hautboïste (French)
an 8 ft. reed stop in the organ
Oboé
(Portuguese) oboe
Oboe basso
(Italian m.) an instrument a minor third below the standard orchestral oboe
Oboe da caccia
(Italian m.) in the late nineteenth century, a term applied variously to a small bassoon, a fifth or fourth higher than the orchestral bassoon or an instrument believed to be a precursor to the cor anglais
Oboe da caccia, Baroque
see baroque oboe da caccia
Oboe d'amore
(Italian m., English) Oboe d'Amore (German f.), Liebesoboe (German f.), hautbois d'amour (French m.), oboe de amor (Spanish m.)
see baroque oboe d'amore
Oboe d'amore, Baroque
(Italian m., English, German f.) see baroque oboe d'amore
Oboe de amor
(Spanish m.) oboe d'amore (Italian m., English), Oboe d'amore (German f.), Liebesoboe (German f.), hautbois d'amour (French m.)
Oboe-flute
an organ stop of small 4 ft. scale, with a delicate and reedy tone
Oboe lunghi
(Italian m.) synonymous with oboe d'amore
Oboe lungo
(Italian m.) synonymous with oboe d'amore
Oboe-musette
alternatively oboe musette, musette oboe or piccolo oboe (q.v.)
Oboen
German f. pl.) synonymous with oboe d'amore
Oboenkonzert
German n.) an oboe concerto
Oboenspiel
German n.) oboe playing
Oboe piccolo
(Italian m.) the standard orchestral oboe
Oboe reed
ancia per oboe (Italian f.), Oboerohr (German n.), anche de hautbois (French f.), lenguëta de oboe (Spanish f.)
Oboerohr
(German n.) oboe reed, ancia per oboe (Italian f.), anche de hautbois (French f.), lenguëta de oboe (Spanish f.)
Oboi
(Italian m. pl.) oboes
Oboist
a player of the oboe
Oboist (m.), Oboistin (f.)
(German) oboist
Oboista
(Italian m./f.) an oboist
Obokano
an enormous lute-like instrument used by the Gusii people of Kenya
Obonu
royal drums of Ghana
Obra (s.), Obras (p.)
(Portuguese, Spanish f.) work, oeuvre (French f.)
see tiento
Obra cantada (s.), Obras cantadas (pl.)
(Spanish f.) vocal work
Obra clásica (s.), Obras clásicas (pl.)
(Spanish f.) classical work
Obra escogida (s.), Obras escogidas (pl.)
(Spanish f.) selected work
Obra de consulta
(Spanish f.) reference book
Obra de música
(Spanish f.) music score
Obra de teatro (s.), Obras de teatro (pl.)
(Spanish f.) play
Obra homónima
(Spanish f.) work of the same name
Obra improvisada
(Spanish f.) impromptu
Obra instrumental (s.), Obras instrumentales (pl.)
(Spanish f.) instrumental work
obran con autonomía
(Spanish) they act autonomously
Obra orquestal (s.), Obras orquestales (pl.)
(Spanish f.) orchestral work
Obra para piano (s.), Obras para piano (pl.)
(Spanish f.) work for the piano
Obra publicada póstumamente
(Spanish f.) work published posthumously, opus posthumous (Latin), Op. posth.
Obra sin número de opus
(Spanish f.) work without opus number, Werk ohne Opuszahl (German m.), WoO
Obra teatral
(Spanish f.) play (a work written for the theatre)
Obrenten
(Ghana) Ga master drum
Obrigkeit
(German f.) authorities
obschon
(German) although
Obscurum per obscurius
(Latin) an attempt to explain something obscure by reference to something even more obscure
Observatorium
(German n.) observatory
Obsequies
(Latin obsequia, literally 'services' or 'observances') rites performed for the dead
obskur
(German) obscure, dubious
Obst
(German n.) fruit
Obstacle
in the theatre, a force that opposes a character's 'intention' (or 'objective') and thereby gives rise to dramatic tensions
Obstbaum
(German m.) fruit tree
Obstgarten
(Ghana m.) orchard
Obsthändler
(German m.) fruiterer
Obstsalat
(German m.) fruit salad
obszön
(German) obscene
Obszönität
(German f.) obscenity
obtenir ... par
(French) to obtain ... by
O-bus
(German m.) trolley bus
Obukano
(Kenya) a large lyre with eight strings
Obw.
abbreviated form of Oberwerke
obwohl
(German) although
OC
abbreviation of Opéra-Comique, Paris (the company)
oc
abbreviation of opéra comique (the genre)
Ocarina, Ocarine (Italian pl.)
(English, French m., Italian f., Spanish f., from the Italian, literally 'little goose') Okarina (German f.), an egg-shaped, metal, plastic or earthenware vessel flute with fingerholes
a musical work written for a particular occasion, for example, a banquet, a wedding, a funeral
Occasional poem
a poem written or recited to commemorate a specific event such as a wedding, an anniversary, a military victory or failure, a funeral, a holiday, or other notable date
(German f.) anelace [entry provided by Michael Zapf]
Ockbrook [1751/2-present]
Moravian settlement in Derbyshire, consisting of 'Choir' houses, workshops, school and farm, chapel and burial ground set around an open green. Due to its central location it was for a while the national co-ordinating point for the Moravian Church
Ocularist
a person skilled in the design, fabrication, and fitting of artificial eyes
Octaaf
(Dutch) octave
Octabajo
(Spanish) octobasse
Octachord
also octochord, an instrument with eight strings or a system of eight notes
Octatonic scale
also called a 'diminished scale', 'octotonic scale' or 'whole step-half step-whole step scale', a scale that follows the sequence of intervals: tone-semitone-tone-semitone-tone-semitone-tone-semitone (whole step-half step-whole step-half step-whole step-half step-whole step-half step). There are eight different pitches within the octave, rather than the seven of a diatonic scale, and the the letter name of one pitch will be doubled. The scale may begin with a semitone (half step) rather than a tone (whole step). In equal-temperament, there are three forms of the diminished scale. Those built on roots C, Eb, F# and A are identical, those built on roots D, F, Ab, B are identical, as are those built on roots Db, E, G and Bb [information corrected by Nuno André Novo]
(Latin, octavus, literally 'eighth') sometimes abbreviated to 8ve. To modern ears, two notes an octave apart seem to be 'at the same pitch'. This is because the upper note is the first harmonic of the lower note and can be said to be already a part of it. For medieval listeners, the unison and the octave were not equivalent and a cadence on the upper octave could not be substituted for one at the unison
the naming of the different octaves is shown below:
scientific pitch notation note-octave notation
Helmholtz pitch notation
frequency (where A4, ai = 440 Hz)
octave name
C0 - B0 C(0) - B(0) C[0] - B[0] C0 - B0
Cii - Bii CCC - BBB
16.352 Hz - 30.868 Hz
sub-contra octave (English) Subkontra-Oktave (German) [German entry corrected by Michael Zapf] double contre-octave (French)
C1 is called 'double pedal C'
C1 - B1 C(1) - B(1) C[1] - B[1] C1 - B1
Ci - Bi CC - BB
32.703 Hz - 61.735 Hz
contra octave (English) Kontra-Oktave (German) [German entry corrected by Michael Zapf] contre-octave (French: Berton & Antoine Reicha)
C2 is called 'pedal C'
C2 - B2 C(2) - B(2) C[2] - B[2] C2 - B2
C - B
65.404 Hz - 124.47 Hz
great octave (English) große Oktave (German) grande octave (French: Berton & Antoine Reicha)
C3 is called 'bass C' and by some 'tenor C'
C3 - B3 C(3) - B(3) C[3] - B[3] C3 - B3
c - b
130.81 Hz - 246.94 Hz
small octave (English) kleine Oktave (German) petite octave (French: Berton & Antoine Reicha)
C4 is called 'middle C'
C4 - B4 C(4) - B(4) C[4] - B[4] C4 - B4
ci - bi
261.63 Hz - 493.88 Hz
one-line octave (English) one-accented octave (English) once-accented octave (English) eingestrichene Oktave (German) 2me petite octave (French: Berton & Antoine Reicha)
C5 is called 'treble C'
C5 - B5 C(5) - B(5) C[5] - B[5] C5 - B5
cii - bii
523.25 Hz - 987.77 Hz
two-line octave (English) two-accented octave (English) twice-accented octave (English) zweigestrichene Oktave (German) 3me petite octave (French: Berton & Antoine Reicha)
C6 is called 'top C'
C6 - B6 C(6) - B(6) C[6] - B[6] C6 - B6
ciii - biii
1046.5 Hz - 1975.5 Hz
three-line octave (English) three-accented octave (English) thrice-accented octave (English) dreigestrichene Oktave (German) 4me petite octave (French: Berton & Antoine Reicha)
C7 is called 'double top C'
C7 - B7 C(7) - B(7) C[7] - B[7] C7 - B7
ciiii - biiii
2093.0 Hz - 3951.1 Hz
four-line octave (English) four-accented octave (English) viergestrichene Oktave (German) 5me petite octave (French: Berton & Antoine Reicha)
the notation 8va is sometimes seen in sheet music, meaning "play this an octave higher than written." 8va stands for ottava, the Italian word for octave. Sometimes 8va will also be used to indicate a passage is to be played an octave lower, although the similar notation 8vb (ottava bassa) is more common. Similarly, 15ma (quindicesima) means "play two octaves higher than written." Coll'ottava means to play the passage in octaves. Any of these directions can be cancelled with the word loco, but often a dashed line or bracket indicates the extent of the music affected
an organ stop of 4ft. pitch, more generally called the Principal, which sounds an octave higher than the pitch expected when a key is depressed
the eight days following any great festival of the Church
the first part of an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, an octave is a set of eight lines that rhyme according to the pattern ABBAABBA
octavear
(Spanish) to play in octaves, octavier (French)
Octave clarinet
see 'piccolo clarinet'
Octave-clarion
a 2 ft. reed stop in an organ
Octave clef
chiave di trasposizione all'ottavo (Italian f.), Oktavierende Schlüssel (German m.), clé de octaviée (French f.), clef de octaviée (French f.), clave de transposiciones de octava (Spanish f.), clave de octavas (Spanish f.)
a way to correctly identify every possible musical note from the lowest to highest pitches, first devised by Guido d'Arezzo (c.995-c.1050) in the eleventh century
ottava alta (Italian), Oktave höher (German), octave plus haut (French)
Octave illusion
discovered by Diana Deutsch in 1973, the octave illusion is an auditory illusion produced by simultaneously playing two sequences of two notes that are spaced an octave apart, high to low, and low to high, in separate stereo channels over headphones. People who are right-handed tend to hear the higher pitch as being in their right ear while the results are mixed for left-handed people
ottava bassa (Italian), Oktave niedriger (German), octave plus bas (French)
Octave mandola
see 'mandolin, mandoline'
Octave mandoline
see 'mandolin, mandoline'
Octave marker
a small 8 (or 15) appearing beside a clef sign indicating that the instrument for which the part has been written sounds an octave higher (in which case the 8 lies above the clef sign; 15 would signify two octave transposition) or an octave lower (in which case the 8 lies below the clef sign; 15 would signify two octave transposition) that the part would have sounded were the 8 (or 15) to be absent. The 8 (0r 15) may sometimes be missing in which case the octave shift appropriate to the instrument playing the part is understood
Octave plus bas
(French) an octave lower
Octave plus haut
(French) an octave higher
Octave, rule of the
see 'Rule of the octave'
Octaves aiguës
(French) in organ music, a reference to the super-octave coupler (which adds the pipes an octave above)
Octaves consécutives
(French f. pl.) consecutive octaves
Octaves graves
(French) in organ music, a reference to the sub-octave coupler (which adds the pipes an octave below)
Octave sign
ottava
Octave spinet
see ottavina
Octave stop
a stop in the organ that sounds a higher than expected when a particular key is pressed
Octave stretching
the term is used for two different phenomena:
due to the presence of inharmonicities, some instruments, particularly the modern piano with its thick strings, have many notes with slightly wide, that is sharp, harmonics. For this reason, the perceived pitch of that note is somewhat higher than the physical fundamental would suggest. For this reason tuners stretch all the notes in the scale to compensate (i.e. the bass octaves are set progressively flatter and the higher octaves progressively sharper)
it has been found through experiment that the ear usually perceives the subjective, perceptual octave as slightly sharper than the physical octave
so, on first sight - and if the above explanation were the whole story - it would appear as though - where intonation is concerned - the piano were exceptional among musical instruments. However, it turns out that stretching of the tone scale is very common in musical performance. Solo instruments such as the wind and string families, as well as singers, tend to play sharp in the high pitch region. And in the orchestra the bass string players are often advised to avoid tuning their instruments sharp but instead rather to tune slightly flat. These tendencies are clearly visible in the results of statistical frequency measurements on solo performances by expert players on the violin, flute, and oboe. Although these instruments produce truly harmonic complex tones, a stretch of the tone scale was found that resembles that of the piano - with the only exception that even the middle octaves were not unstretched. So, in fact, ... non-stretched keyboard instruments, such as the organ, turn out to be the exception rather than the rule. [from: Stretch of the musical tone scale (2000) by Ernst Terhardt]
(Spanish m.) or octavín, piccolo, octavin (French)
Octavin
(French) an organ stop of 2 ft. scale
Octavina
ottavina
Octavine
ottavina
Octavino
ottavino
Octavo (m.), Octava (f.)
(Spanish) eighth
octavo (m.), octava (f.)
(Spanish) eighth
Octavo
a term from the early production of paper and vellum in the medieval period. When a single, large uncut sheet is folded once and attached to create two leaves, or four pages, and then bound together, the resulting text is called a folio. If the folio is in turn folded in half once more and cut, the resulting size of page is called a quarto. If the quarto is in turn folded in half and cut once more, the result is an octavo. Thus, an octavo is a book made of sheets of material folded three times, to create eight leaves, or sixteen pages, each about 4 inches wide and 5 inches high, to make a tiny book. On a single sheet, the page visible on the right-hand side of an open book or the "top" side of such a page is called the recto side (Latin for "right"), and the reverse or "bottom" side of such a page (the page visible on the left-hand side of an open book) is called the verso side
(Italian m.) a sheet or booklet for a shorter choral work that contains all the vocal parts and usually includes a piano accompaniment, although is sometime only a reduction of the instrumental accompaniment and will be for rehearsal purposes only. The term 'octavo' (8vo) refers to a standard paper sheet-size folded in eight, to produce a small book
a group of musicians playing or singing such a piece of music
Octeto
(Spanish m.) octet
Octeto de cuerdas
(Spanish m.) string octet
Octeto de vientos
(Spanish m.) wind octet
Octett
(German n.) octet
Octette
(French f.) or octuor, octet
Octiphonium
(Latin) a vocal composition in eight independent parts
octo
(Latin) eight
Octobasse
invented in 1849 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume and exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace, London, the three-string octobasse produces notes four octaves below the double bass
also 'octachord', an instrument with eight strings
a system of eight notes
Octofone
see 'mandolin, mandoline'
octoginta
(Latin) eighty
Octosyllabic
a (verse) line with eight syllables, often used in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese poetry
one example of an octosyllablic is iambic tetrameter, a line consisting of four iambic feet, upon which some poetic forms rely: for example, triolet, Onegin stanza, Memoriam stanza and long measure (or long metre) ballad stanza
having or characterised by or consisting of eight syllables
Octotonic
or octatonic, a scale in which the intervals are alternately a semitone (half-step) and a tone (whole step)
see 'octatonic'
Octroi
(French) from the eighteenth century, a tax levied on certain articles brought into towns in France and other European countries, the customs-station where such a tax is collected
Octroon
'quadroon', 'octoroon' and, more rarely, 'quintroon' were historically racial categories of hypodescent used in Latin America and parts of the 19th century Southern United States, particularly Louisiana. The terms were also used in Australia to refer to people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry. Genealogically, an octroon is one-eighth black
Octuor
(French m.) or octette, octet, octeto (Spanish)
Octuple croche
(French) hemidemisemiquaver (sixty-fourth note), a note one sixty-fourth the time value of a whole note or semibreve
Octuplet
a group of notes which divides a bar or part of a bar into eight instead of six equal parts
(English, French f., from the Turkish) a female slave in an Ottoman seraglio. She was an assistant or apprentice to the concubines and wives, and she might rise in status to become one of them. Most odalisques were part of the Imperial Harem, that is, the household, of the sultan
Odd meter
a meter (time signature) that contains both simple and compound beats, for example 5/4 which can be 2/4 plus 3/4 or 3/4 plus 2/4
Ode
(Engish, German f., from the Greek oide and Latin oda, literally' song') originally a moderate length poem of praise, now a cantata-like musical setting of lyric poetry fulfilling a similar purpose, for example, the Birthday Odes for Queen Mary composed by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) and those for Prince George composed by William Boyce (1711-1779)
"But truly it is not safe to honor with hymns and praises those still living, before they have traversed the whole of life and reached a noble end." Plato, the Laws
(Greek) a public building for musical performances
Odéon
built in 1779-82 to a Neoclassical design by Charles De Wailly and Marie-Joseph Peyre in order to house the Comédie Française (which preferred to stay at the Théâtre-Français in the Palais Royal), the new theatre was inaugurated by Marie-Antoinette on April 9, 1782. It was there that The Marriage of Figaro was premiered two years later. In 1990, the theatre was renamed Théâtre de l'Europe
for example, für ein order zwei Claviere (German: for one or two manuals)
Ode To Joy
(An die Freude in German, in English often familiarly called the Ode to Joy althoug the strict translation of the German is 'To Joy') an ode written in 1785 by the German poet and historian Friedrich Schiller, and known especially for its musical setting by Beethoven in the fourth and final movement of his Ninth Symphony, for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra. The Ode to Joy was adopted as Europe's anthem by the Council of Europe in 1972, with an official arrangement for orchestra written by Herbert von Karajan
(Latin) a public building for musical performances
odiar a muerte
(Spanish) to loathe somebody
Odische Musik
(German) vocal music
Odissi
or orissi, one of the Indian classical dance forms, the traditional dance of the state of Orissa, mainly a form of devotional dance
Odium scholasticum
(Latin) the spitefulnesss of scholars
Odium theologicum
(Latin) the spitefulness of theologians
Odono
(Ghana) small talking drum
Odori
general term for Japanese dance, but particularly traditional dances performed in the streets during the summer Obon festival
temple dancers of Japa, the forerunners of Kabuki performers
O du armer Judas
(German) this religious folksong became one of the most commonly used sources of Protestant contrafacta during the German Reformation. In the early decades of the sixteenth century, this melody was linked with Lutheran accusations of Catholic corruption. Martin Luther himself even wrote a contrafactum of the song in 1541 to criticize Duke Heinrich of Braunschweig
Odyssée
(French f.) odyssey (particularly The Odyssey)
Odyssey
(Greek) a long wandering and eventful journey, an intellectual or spiritual quest
particularly The Odyssey, the younger of the two surviving ancient Greek epic poems, traditionally ascribed to Homer but containing much orally transmitted material composed over several centuries, and concerning the adventures and ordeals of the Greek warrior Odysseus after the fall of Troy as he struggles to return home and reestablish himself as king of Ithaca
the standard abbreviation among scholars for The Oxford English Dictionary
Oedema (s.), Oedemata (pl.)
(Greek) a swelling caused by the presence of a serous fluid in the tissues
Oedipal complex
the late Victorian and early twentieth-century psychologist Freud argued that male children, jealous of sharing their mother's attention with a father-figure, would come to possess a subconscious incestuous desire to kill their fathers and have sex with their mothers. They would in a sense desire to usurp the father's place in the household. In most healthy adults, this urge would be repressed and channeled into other pursuits, but echoes of the hidden desire would linger in the psyche. Freud coined the phrase from the myth of Oedipus, the doomed Greek hero
in Greek mythology, a tragic king of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta
oefenen
(Dutch) practicing
Oefening
(Dutch) exercise
Oehler system
around 1890 the respected Berlin clarinetist Oskar Oehler stopped performing in order to devote his time to research and instrument construction. With the addition of oboe key system design, Oehler improved the remaining intonational faults existing within German clarinet. This correlation between Oehler's key systems and that of the oboe may have been due to the oboe mechanical advances taking place in France under Triebert during the same time period as Oehler's improvements. To accommodate his innovations in venting tone holes to improve the intonation and tonality of certain pitches, Oehler added additional rings. He also placed an Eb lever to the right hand pinky key cluster allowing the player to play passages with minimal sliding between keys. The task of continued improvements in the Oehler design was taken on by Fritz Wurlitzer and his son Herbert in the post World War II era. Inevitably the German style key system remains less popular than the system developed by Buffet and Klose known as the Boehm fingering system. The Oehler system, however, has grown to a state in which its ease of playing is equal to that of the Boehm, and the Full German (Oehler) System is known for its uncompromised tonal characteristics. As Robert Carree of Buffet Crampon realized the advantages of smaller bores, the German clarinet followed suit adopting a fairly standardized 14.7mm bore. Eventually a popular F resonance key was added to the instrument to further improve its intonation and timbre. The Oehler clarinet has also managed to produce amazing intonational and tonal qualities while retaining its cylindrical bore
(German f.) 'open' form, a term sometimes used for 'mobile' or 'polyvalent' musical forms, where the order of movements or sections is indeterminate or left up to the performer
offenes Buch
(German n.) open book
offene Stelle
(German f.) vacancy
Offenflöte
(German f.) see 'Clarabella'
offen gesagt
(German) or offengestanden, to be honest
offenhalten
(German) to hold open (door), to keep open (eyes, mouth)
(French m.) a piece (whether hymn, prayer, anthem, or an instrumental piece sung or played) performed during the collection of the offertory
Offertorio
(Italian m.) offertory
(Italian m.) a piece (whether hymn, prayer, anthem, or an instrumental piece sung or played) performed during the collection of the offertory
Offertorium
(Latin, German n.) offertory
(Latin, German n.) a piece (whether hymn, prayer, anthem, or an instrumental piece sung or played) performed during the collection of the offertory
Offertory
a composition performed during the collection of the offering in the Mass. The Offertory follows the Credo
Off glide
in linguistics, the second-half of a diphthong sound
Office
see 'divine office'
Office of the dead
service for the benefit of the souls of the dead
Officier de quart
(French m.) officer of the watch
Officina
(Italian f., Latin) workshop
Officina meccanica
(Italian f.) machine shop
Officium
(Latin) the Mass
Officium defunctorum
(Latin) Misa de Requiem, Requiem Mass, Mass for the dead
offrir de
(French) to offer to
Off rhyme
in poetry, another term for inexact rhyme
Offset lithography
a printing process in which an image is transferred (offset) from one surface to another by indirect means. The general principals involved are identical to traditional metal plate lithography. The difference between them is in the manner they are printed. Various offset printing presses may have different roller systems but all share three major components; a plate cylinder that holds the printing plate, a blanket cylinder wrapped in rubber that carries the image, and the impression cylinder which applies the pressure to print the image. A processed litho-plate containing an image is mounted on a cylinder, mechanically dampened with a wetting agent, and then rolled with ink. The oily ink is repelled from the damp areas and is attracted to the image areas. A blanket cylinder is then rolled over it, picking up the image onto its soft rubber surface. Paper then passed between this blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder, which presses all three surfaces together, transferring the image to the paper. If a web press is used, additional rollers will cut the paper. By using an intermediate soft roller to transfer the image, the delicate metal litho-plate suffers less abrasion and can be used for a longer period before wearing out. The soft roller can also pick up and deposit ink better than a hard surface, creating impressions with greater fidelity. This process was discovered by accident in 1900 by Ira A. Rubel. Shortly afterwards Charles Harris invented the first Rotary Offset Press. This process was not widely used for commercial printing until the 1950s when an easy to use, storable, photosensitive metal litho-plate was developed
Offset printing
see 'offset lithography'
Off the pitch
slightly flat or sharp to the prevalent pitch
off(s)
abbreviation of 'offertory', 'offertories'
Oficleide
(Italian m.) ophicleide, Ophikleide (German f.), ophicléide (French m.), figle (Spanish m.), oficleido (Spanish m.)
Oficleido
(Spanish m.) ophicleide, Ophikleide (German f.), ophicléide (French m.), figle (Spanish m.)
Of ones own volition
willingly
Oge
Ghanaian royal drum
Ogee
an S-shaped curve, particularly of an arch
Ogham
a form of the Latin alphabet used for inscriptions in Celtic countries in the early medieval period
Oghene
(Nigeria) oval shaped iron gong
Ogirigbo
(Nigeria) an Igede wooden slit-drum made from a hollowed log. It is a talking instrument with two lips that are beaten to reproduce the Igede language
ogni
(Italian) all, every
Ogung
set of four gongs from Sumatra
Ohe hano ihu
(literally 'bamboo flute of the nose') a three-holed bamboo nose flute from Hawaii
also called a trick ending or a surprise ending, this term refers to a totally unexpected and unprepared-for turn of events, one which alters the action in a narrative
(German) unmeasured, unbarred, senza misura, sans mesure
ohne Bezeichnung
(German) without title, without description
ohne Beziehung
(German) unrelated
ohne Beziehungen
(German) unconnected
ohne Dämpfer
(German) unmuted, without mute, without dampers (in piano music this means using the 'loud' pedal), senza sordina (Italian), sans sourdine (French)
ohne Eile
(German) without haste
ohne hervorzutretend
(German) not emphasized
ohne im Geringsten hervorzutreten
(German) without being brought out in the slightest
ohne mich!
(German) count me out
ohne Nachschlage, ohne Nachschl.
(German) without grace-note (i.e. without the turned ending on a trill)
Ohne Pedal (s.), ohne Pedale (pl.)
(German) without the pedal (in piano music, release the right pedal)
ohne Saiten
(German) snares off
ohne Stimme
(German) voiceless
ohne Umschweife
(German) straight out
ohne Unterlaß
(German) incessantly
ohne Verschiebung
(German) without the soft pedal, release the soft pedal
ohne Verstärkung
(German) without reinforcement (i.e. no doubling)
ohne Vibration
(German) without vibration
ohne zu schleppen
(German) without dragging
ohne zu überlegen
(German) without thinking
Oh. Ped.
abbreviated form of Ohne Pedal (German: without the pedal)
Ohr
(German n.) ear
Ohren spitzen, die
(German) to cock one's ears
Ohrgeräusch
(German n.) ringing in the ears
Ohrwurm
see 'earworm'
oía las campanas
(Spanish) I could hear the bells ringing
Oído (s.), Oídos (pl.)
(Spanish m.) hearing, ear (anatomical)
(Spanish m.) sound-hole, f-hole (in a violin, viola, etc.), ouïe (French s.), ouïes (French pl.)
Oído absoluto
(Spanish m.) perfect pitch, oreille absolue (French)
Oikos
in Byzantine chant, the framework of a mode as defined by a few melodic formulas
Oil gilding
(in gilding) the application of gold or metal leaf to a surface employing an adhesive. This resin traditionally is an oil based varnish known as size. Water based substitutes are also available. Most surfaces to be oil gilt need to be sealed to ensure an evenly distributed layers of adhesive and an even drying time
Oitava
(Portuguese) octave (interval)
Oja
Nigerian three holed wooden whistle
Ojamba
(Ghana) tall, thin drum
Ojeada
(Spanish f.) glance
Ojeh
(Nigeria) an Igede metal gong that is beaten rhythmically with a stick
Ojo (s.), Ojos (pl.)
(Spanish m.) eye
Ojo amoratado
(Spanish m.) black eye
Ojos café(s)
(Spanish m.) brown eyes
Okarina
(German f., Croatian) ocarina (English, Italian f. Spanish f., French m.)
Okedo-daiko
also okedo or oke, the barrel-bodied taiko can be set on a stand and played like other taiko, but may also be strapped over the shoulder allowing the drummer to walk and play at the same time
ökning
(Swedish) augmentation
Oko
(Nigeria) a gourd trumpet from the Igede people
Okónkolo
also called omelé, the smallest of the Cuban batá drums, it plays a rhythmic pattern that changes when indicated by the iyá drum
Okpirih
(Nigeria) an Igede wooden drum with a tenor voice, forms a set with egbong and ubah
(German n.) contrabassoon, although sometimes the name Oktavfagott is given to the Tenoroon
on the various unusual sizes of Fagott : the Quintfagott is a fifth higher as the bassoon is, so an instrument "in c" with as the lowest note an F. The Quartfagott is, an instrument in b-flat going down to G, a fourth above the bassoon. Confusing can be that also a Quintbassfagott and a Quartbassfagott did exist, a fifth and a fourth lower than the regular bassoon. And then we had the Tenoroon or Octavfagott or Fagottino, one octave above the bassoon, and the Contrafagott one octave below [information taken from the Contrabass-list 2 Jan 1998 Vol 1 No. 80]
Oktavflöte
(German f.) piccolo
(German f.) an organ stop of 4 ft. pitch
Oktavierungszeichen
(German n.) octave transposition mark (for example, 8va (abbreviation of ottava - Italian: octave))
Oktavist
a term applied to a particularly deep basso profondo voice used in Russian Orthodox choral music. Their range starts from about a full octave below a standard bass voice
Oktavkoppel
(German n.) octave coupler, on a harpsichord or an organ
Oktavparallelen
(German f. pl.) parallel octaves
Oktavversetzung
(German f.) drop voicing
Oktett
(German n.) octet
Oktoechos
(Greek, literally 'eight modes') introduced by John of Damascus, the Oktoechos are the centre of Byzantine music theory that uses the methods of the ancient Greeks to create its scales, even during the last revision of Byzantine music in 1821. The Oktoechos cycles through each of the divisions every week (Saturday night Hesperinos, vespers, being the exact office in which the mode switches) so that by the end of eight weeks every division has been read and sung. The eight Byzantine modes match the ancient Greek genera:
enharmonic
of which there are 2
modes that are heavy and/or powerful in nature. One may think of an ancient Byzantine army singing a war song when one hears music in this scale
chromatic
of which there are 2
modes that are sad but harmonious. Funeral and mourning hymns are usually sung in this scale
diatonic
of which there are 4
modes that are closest to Western or European musical scales. Miracle hymns and Christ's spoken words are sung in this usually happy scale
the Athenian comedies dating to 400-499 BC, featuring invective, satire, ribald humour, and song and dance
Old English
also called Anglo-Saxon, the ancestor of Middle English and Modern English, that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. It is a West Germanic language and therefore is similar to Old Frisian and Old Saxon. It is also related to Old Norse and, by extension, to modern Icelandic
the language of the Franks. Classified as a West Germanic language, it was spoken in areas covering modern France, Germany, and the Low Countries in Merovingian times (until the sixth century), possibly extending into early Carolingian times (eighth century). The language had a significant impact on Old French. It evolved into Old Low Franconian (including Old Dutch) in the north and it was replaced by French in the south. Old Frankish is not directly attested, and is reconstructed from Old Low Franconian and loanwords in Old French
a term sometimes used to refer to the langue d'oïl, the continuum of varieties of Romance language spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of Belgium and Switzerland during the period roughly from 1000 to 1300 A.D. It was known at the time as the langue d'oïl to distinguish it from the langue d'oc, (also then called Provençal) which bordered these areas to the south
(sometimes Old Hall MS) (British Library, Add. MS 57950) the largest, most complete, and most significant source of English sacred music of the late 14th and early 15th centuries, and as such represents the best source for English music of the late Medieval era. It is named after the Old Hall at the College of St Edmund (near Ware), and rather miraculously survived the destruction of manuscripts carried out by King Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s
(English, German m.) or 'Golden Oldie', a piece of popular music from the past (usually from a period ending only a few years earlier)
Old Irish
form of the Gaelic language as it was used between 600 and 900 AD
Old Norse poetry
encompasses a range of verse forms written in a number of Nordic languages, embraced by the term 'Old Norse', during the period from the eighth century to as late as the far end of the thirteenth century. A significant amount of Old Norse literature that survives was preserved in Iceland. Poetry played an important role in the social and religious world of the Vikings. Old Norse poetry is conventionally, and somewhat arbitrarily, split into two types; Eddaic poetry (also sometimes known as Eddic poetry) and skaldic poetry. Eddaic poetry includes the poems of the Codex Regius and a few other similar ones. Skaldic poetry is usually defined as everything else not already mentioned
the Old Philharmonic or military (Kneller Hall) pitch was a'=455 Hz. and middle C = 270Hz.. The New Philharmonic pitch which was introduced later, was also called Diapason Normal or Concert. The two reference pitches were a'=439 Hz at 68° Fahrenheit and middle C=261 Hz.
Old Regular Baptist singing
Old Regular Baptists carry on a tradition of singing that dates from the sixteenth century and has a lot in common with other Protestant hymnody. The whole congregation is invited to sing. Their aim is to praise the Lord. The songs are sung in church, at memorial meetings, baptisms, and in homes. They are sung by men, women, and children alike. But Old Regular Baptist singing also has its own particulars. The singing is very slow. It gets along without a regular beat; you can't tap your foot to it. The melodies are very elaborate, and they come from the old Anglo-American folk music tune stock, not from classical music or from popular songs written to make money. The group sings in unison, not in parts (harmony), but each singer is free to "curve" the tune a little differently, and those who are able to make it more elaborate are admired. People unfamiliar with this way of singing are mistaken if they think the singers intend unified precision but fall short; on the contrary, the singing is in step and deliberately just a bit out of phase - and this is one of its most powerful musical aspects. Like almost all Christian hymns, Old Regular Baptist congregational songs consist of rhymed, metrical verse in a series of stanzas to which a repeating tune is set. Song books are kept at the pulpit and passed around to the song leaders. These books have words but no musical notation. The oldest lyrics are the eighteenth-century hymns, written chiefly by familiar English or American devotional poets and hymn writers such as Isaac Watts. These fill their two favorite song books, the collections Sweet Songster and the Thomas Hymnal. The leader sings the very first line, and the congregation joins in when they recognize the song. After that, the song proceeds line by line: the leader briefly chants a line alone, and then the group repeats the words but to a tune that is much longer and more elaborate than the leader's chant or lining tune. Music historians call this procedure 'lining out'
canto romano antico (Italian), Alte Romanische Gesang (German), chant vieux-romain (French), canto viejo romano (Spanish)
although surviving manuscripts dated from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, this liturgical repertory of melodies can be traced back to at least the eighth century. Old Roman chant is thought to have existed at the time of Gregory (590-604) and may be distinguished from the later form associated with the Frankish Empire (c. 800) which is what we now call 'Gregorian chant'. In the Old Roman repertory, standard melodic formulae and melismas are less clearly outlined and less stable, and the melodic lines have less flexibility than in Gregorian chant. The Roman tradition flourished and developed until the eleventh century but it was finally replaced in Rome when the Roman Popes imported Gregorian chant from the German Holy Roman Emperors during the tenth and eleventh centuries
Old rondo
see 'rondo'
Old School Baptists singing
also called 'Primitive Baptists', the Old School and Regular Baptists have continued the centuries old tradition of congregational hymn singing without the accompaniment of musical instruments - a practice which had previously been standard for most Protestant faiths. The early Old School Baptist churches appear to have used hymns published by other denominations (for example The Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, of the Rev. Isaac Watts, D.D.) until the "great divide" between mission and anti-mission Baptists in 1832 at Black Rock Church in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Early hymnals like Dr. Watts, a words-only hymnal, was compiled by Samuel Worcester, D.D., and was published in Boston by Samuel T. Armstrong and Company in 1823. In this hymn book the tune was given at the beginning of each entry along with metrical direction for singing. It was out of this Puritan tradition that early Baptists received their first printed hymnals, and the practice of using words-only hymnals predominated until the early part of the twentieth century, and still remains common practice in many congregations
a style of electronic music that incorporates influences from genres including breakbeat hardcore, techno, rare groove and reggae/dub/dancehall. There is significant debate as to whether Jungle is a separate genre from drum and bass as some use the terms interchangeably
for electronic music fans, a popular term that usually refers to a style of music popular in the early 1990s, which was at the time called breakbeat hardcore or rave
Old Spanish chant
see 'Mozarabic chant'
Old Testament
the first part of the Bible, shared with the Jewish faith, detailing the history of the Jewish people before the birth of Christ
Old Time fiddle
for the middle class, urban fiddle player of today (and let's face it, that's most of us), with a choice of fiddle style comes a bundle of ideals, values and romantic notions. For Americans, Old Time fiddling represents a nostalgic link with the country's past- a tradition rooted in the simple, honest, hardworking lives of the first rural farmers. British settlers began arriving in the uplands of the southeast in the mid 1700's, colonising the Blue Ridge mountain and Southern Appalachian states of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. Whilst fiddlers would have existed among all the nation's settlers, it was in these isolated communities of the southeast that the tradition was best preserved
(English, Oldtimejazz (German m.)) synonymous with New Orleans jazz
Old-time music
a form of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, most notably: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Africa. This musical form developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance. The genre also encompasses ballads and other types of folk song. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on the fiddle
any of several shrubs of the genus Elaeagnus, having silver-white twigs and yellow flowers followed by olivelike fruits
Oleg tamulilingan
a Balinese dance depicting the flirtation and eventual falling in love of two bumble-bees
Olfactory imagery
imagery dealing with scent
OLGA
an acronym for 'On-line Guitar Archive', the oldest internet library of guitar and bass tablature, or "tabs". Born from a collection of guitarist internet-forum archives, it has been a useful resource for musicians for over a decade
'Olifant' is used as the name of Roland's legendary horn in The Song of Roland, in wqhich Roland carries the Olifant while serving on the rearguard of Charlemagne's army. When they are attacked at the Battle of Roncevaux, Oliver tells him to use it to call for aid, but he refuses until it is too late. Roland finally relents, but the battle is already lost. He tries to destroy the horn along with his sword 'Durendal', lest they fall into enemy hands. In the Karlamagnussaga (V. c.XIV) Roland's 'Olifant' is described as being a unicorn's horn, hunted in India
(French) a Provençal dances associated with the completion of the olive harvest
Ollamh
an ancient Irish storyteller. The ollamh profession flourished between the sixth and fifteenth centuries. They were required professionally to know 350 stories to hold the rank. The Welsh equivalent is a cyfarwydd
(Spanish f.) a Spanish culinary dish consisting of many kinds of meat and vegetables stewed together
(Spanish f.) a hotchpot, a medley, a miscellaneous mixture
Olodum
a cultural group based in the black community of Salvador, the capital city of the state of Bahia, Brazil. One of many similar groups in the city (and elsewhere in Brazil), it offers cultural activities to young people, largely centered around music; it also offers theatrical productions and other activities. Founded in 1979, its stated aims are to combat racism, to encourage self-esteem and pride among African Brazilians, and to fight for civil rights for all marginalized groups. The group is an active participant in carnaval each year
the beating effect produced between pairs of slightly differently pitched metallophones, a feature of gamelan orchestras
Ombgwe
a South African flute comprising a hollow nsala fruit joined to a bamboo pipe. The round end is bored with up to four finger holes to produce different notes, and the instrument is played with one hand, leaving the other hand free for a shaken idiophone
Ombré
(French) (a fabric) woven with variably dyed yarns so as to produce a shaded effect
Ombres chinoises
(French pl.) a shadow pantomine, an entertainment in which the shadows of cut-out silhouettes are cast onto a translucent screen
Ombudsman
(Swedish) an official acting as an independent legal arbitrator between the State and a private citizen
Omelé
see batá drums
Omen
a miraculous sign, a natural disaster, or a disturbance in nature that reveals the will of the gods in the arena of politics or social behavior or predicts a coming change in human history
omgewerkt
(Dutch) transformed, revised
Omisión
(Spanish f.) omission
omitir
(Spanish) omit
omkering
(Dutch) inversion
Omnes
(Latin) all, tutti
in the theatre, 'the whole cast'
Omnia
(Latin) all
Omnitonic
having all the notes, synonymous with 'chromatic' when referring to an instrument
omnitonique
(French) omnitonic
Omnium gatherum
(Latin) a confused medley
Omofonia
(Italian f.) homophony
Omoro-saushi
(Okinawa) the earliest known collection of Okinawan folk songs that were sung between the twelfth and early seventeenth century. Divided into 22 books, it contains over 1,000 songs. Omoro, which comes from umui, is an old Okinawan word meaning songs, particularly those sung in Okinawa and the Amami islands. The first book of Omoro-saushi was compiled in 1532, followed by a second in 1613. The remaining books were put together in 1623. Omoro-saushi is often dubbed the Man'yoshu of Okinawa, but Omoro-saushi is an anthology of songs, not poetry like the Man'yoshu
Omphalos
(Greek) the boss on a shield, a central point, a spiritual hub
a religious stone artifact in the ancient world. In Greek, the word omphalos means "navel" (compare the name of Queen Omphale). According to the ancient Greeks, Zeus sent out two eagles to fly across the world to meet at its centre, the "navel" of the world. Omphalos stones used to denote this point were erected in several areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea; the most famous of those was at the oracle in Delphi
Kenyan musical style developed in the 1960s and 70s, based on the sounds of two guitars and a scraped glass soft drink bottle playing the rhythm section
Omvendingsinterval
(Danish) inverted interval
On
or 'upon', sul (Italian), auf (German), sur (French)
On aura tout vu!
(French) That would be too much!
Once
one time, una volta (Italian), einmal (German), une fois (French)
once
(Spanish) eleven
Once-accented octave
see 'octave'
Once-marked octave
synonymous with 'once-accented octave'
Oncena
(Spanish f.) or undécima, (interval of an) eleventh, onzième (French)
onceno (m.), oncena (f.)
(Spanish) eleventh
On commence à y voir plus clair.
(French) Things are beginning to come clear.
Onda
(Italian f.) wave (as in soundwave), ripple (on the surface of a liquid)
Onda corta
(Spanish f.) short wave (radio)
Onda expansiva
(Spanish f.) shockwave
Onda hertziana
(Spanish f.) Hertzian wave
Onda larga
(Spanish f.) long wave (radio)
Onda media
(Spanish f.) medium wave (radio)
Onda sinusoidale (s.), Ondas sinusoidales (pl.)
(Spanish f.) sine wave
Ondas Martenot
(Spanish f. pl.) Ondes Martenot
Ondas musicales
(Spanish f. pl.) Ondes Martenot
Onda sonora
(Spanish f.) soundwave
Onde
(French f.) wave (as in soundwave)
(French f.) Flamme (German f.), marezzatura (Italian f.), flame or figure as found for example in the maple on the back of violins
ondé
(French, literally 'wavy') (of a fabric) so treated as to produce an effect of shaded colour
(Italian) tremolo, vibrato, undulating, rocking, a swaying effect (rhythmic)
ondeggiare
see aiere
Onderdominant
(Dutch) subdominant
onderliggende Harmonie
(Dutch) underlying harmony
Onderzoek
(Dutch) research
Ondes
(French f. pl.) waves, for example sound waves
Ondes Martenot
(French, literally 'Martenot Waves') or 'Ondes musicales', an electronic musical instrument introduced in the 1920s by Maurice Martenot (1898-1980), that produces a single tone with a variable pitch, is classified as an electrophone, and has been used in music written by Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992), and others
the term covers a wide range of undulations including those associated with periodic variation in rhythm, pitch or intensity
ondulé
(French) tremolo, vibrato, undulating, rocking, wavy, a swaying effect (rhythmic)
see 'undulating vibrato'
ondulieren
(German) a tremulous tone in singing, or in playing the violin, etc.
onduliren
(German, archaic) a tremulous tone in singing, or in playing the violin, etc.
One
uno (Italian m.), una (Italian f.), Ein (German), un (French m.), une (French f.)
O Nederland let op U saeck
(Dutch, literally 'Oh Netherlands, Heed Thy Cause') a Dutch song that forms part of a seventeenth-century collection of national songs, Valerius' Nederlandtsche Gedenck-clanck (1576)
One-drop (rhythm)
the "one-drop" rhythm that distinguishes roots reggae from other styles is largely evoked by the regular "drop" of a kick drum (and often a snare) on beats 2 and 4 of each bar
semihemidemisemiquaver, a one hundred and twenty-eighth note, a note having the time duration of one hundred twenty-eighth of the time duration of a semibreve (whole note)
semihemidemisemiquaver rest, a one hundred and twenty-eighth rest, a rest having the time duration of one hundred twenty-eighth of the time duration of a semibreve rest (whole rest)
the belief that dreams could predict the future, or the act of predicting the future by analyzing dreams
on est (date)
(French) it's (date)
One-Step
the One-Step is said to be of American origin and is a very simple and easily dance to learn and to perform. Many of the dances of the day (1910s) such as the Turkey Trot and Grizzly Bear steps were modified to fit the One Step, sometimes called the Walking Step and the Collegiate Foxtrot was basically a One Step as well. The American One-Step is said to be done in Dog Trot Style (dancing on the balls of feet) and was mixed with the above dances. The One-Step eventually gave way to the modern Quick-Step as they were originally pretty much the same dance
The One Step from which this information has been taken
On est dans un beau pétrin
(French) We're in a fine mess
One-voice-per-part
or OVPP, the practice of using solo voices on each musical line or part in choral music
On flanges
a method of attaching keywork to a wind instrument, where (usually) only two posts were soldered or riveted to a single flange, often of a diamond, crescent, or other decorative shape, that was attached to the instrument body. The flange method applies almost exclusively to nonmetal instrument bodies that were sometimes mortised to have the flanges recessed to be flush with the surface
ONG
abbreviation of organisation non gouvernementale (French: NGO - non-governmental organisation)
ongarese
(Italian) Hungarian
ongedrukt
(Dutch) unpublished
ongherese
(Italian) Hungarian
Ongle
(French m.) fingernail
Ongleur
(French m.) an archaic term for a performer on the lyre, harp, etc.
Ongo
from the Central African Republic, a kind of trumpet made from wood or antelope horn that are used in Banda ceremonies and rituals, including adolescent initiation rites, in polyphonic ensembles of eighteen trumpets
Onionskin
or onion skin, a thin, light-weight, strong, often translucent paper. It was usually used with carbon paper for typing duplicates in a typewriter, for permanent records where low bulk was important, or for airmail correspondence
On ne peut pas avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre.
(French) You can't have your cake and eat it.
On ne peut pas être à la fois au four et au moulin.
(French) You can't be in two places at once.
On ne peut rien en tirer.
(French) You can't get anything out of him, You can't do anything with him.
On ne sait jamais par quel bout le prendre
(French) You never know how to take him. You never know how to handle it. You never know how to approach it.
On ne t'a pas sonné!
(French) Who asked you! Nobody asked you!
Onofrio, Conservatorio di S.
this music school, based in Rome, was established in the early 1600s and by the end of the century was a major centre for musical education in that area of Italy. It's principal function was to train the new evirati or castrated singers made necessary (and popular) by the Papal instruction harking back to Saint Paul Mulieres in ecclesis taceant. Young boys would be sent to the Conservatorio to study voice and one particular instrument as well as musical composition and stage technique. 'Graduating' between the ages of 16 and 20 the young castrati would then move into either a church or secular career. Among the most famous were Farinelli, Caffarelli, Gizziello, Reginella, Matteuccio, Niccolino and Senesino
(Greek) an alphabetical list of proper names, particularly the names of people
formerly, a term applied to any kind of vocabulary or glossary
Onomatopoeia
the use of words to imitate actual sounds, or to suggest something that makes a sound. Some examples are: crash, bang, whoosh
whereas onomatopoeia refers to the use of words to imitate actual sounds, there are languages (for example Japanese) known for having a special class of words that "imitate" soundless states or events, called phenomimes (when they describe external phenomena) and psychomimes (when they describe psychological states). On a scale that orders all words according to the correlation between their meaning and their sound, with the sound-imitating words like meow and whack at one end, and with the conventional words like water and blue at the other end, the phonomimes and the psychomimes would be somewhere in the middle (see Japanese sound symbolism). In the case of Japanese, for example, such words are learned in early childhood and are considerably more effective than usual words in conveying feelings and states of mind, or in describing states, motions, and transformations in the outside world. They are not found, however, only in children's vocabulary, but widely used in daily conversation among adults and even in more formal writing
(French) They say that, People say that, The story goes that
On ribs
a method of attaching keys to a wind instrument using an indirect method of attaching posts whereby the posts are silver-soldered to long, narrow metal (often nickel silver) ribs and are either screwed to a nonmetallic instrument body or soft-soldered to a metal instrument body
On se dirait en ...
(French) You'd think you were in ...
Onset
the initial portion of a sound envelope. For most natural sounds, the onset is typically complex. The onset of a sound is often (though not always) perceptually important for identifying sounds
On se tire.
(French) Let's get out of here
On s'en tire.
(French) We manage.
On s'en tire tout juste.
(French) We just get by. We just manage.
On the carpet
being reprimanded (figurative, colloquial), under consideration (figurative)
On the shift
said when a string player is out of first position
On the wood
in drumming, a rim shot. Although today the rims of drums are made of metal, early in the twentieth century, the rims were made of wood
Ontroering
(Dutch) emotion
Ontspanning
(Dutch) release
Ontwikkeling
(Dutch) development
ONU
abbreviation of Organisation des Nations unies (French: UN, United Nations)
Onus
(Latin) a burden, a responsibility, a duty
Onus probandi
(Latin) the burden of proof, the duty of a person who makes a charge or allegation to prove it
On verra bien!
(French) We'll see about that!
onvoltooid
(Dutch) unfinished
Onward Chrstian Soldiers
Christian hymn, words written by author Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924) and the music by Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)
onwelluidend
(Dutch) tuneless
on'yomi
(Japanese) the Sino-Japanese reading, is a Japanese approximation of the Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was introduced. Some kanji were introduced from different parts of China at different times, and so have multiple on'yomi, and often multiple meanings
abbreviation for 'once-over', as in 'to give something the once-over' meaning to look something over (to examine something)
Oofle
a word coined by the American illustrator and humorist Gelett Burgess (1866-1951), for a person whose name you can't remember
Ooh si
Burmese pot drum
Ookawa
See ootsuzumi
Oomiak
(Eskimo) or umiak, a large Eskimo boat
Oom-pah music
a slang term for a large body of traditional German, Austrian, Swiss and Eastern European music most frequently heard at Octoberfest, a traditional Bavarian festival held about the time of Halloween. It is not a single style, but rather a wide variety of styles including polkas, mazurkas, Schottishes, waltzes and landler. The term Oom-Pah imitates the downbeats played by the bass or tuba and the off-beats played by other instruments to provide rhythmic accompaniment to the melody
in dance, a term that has at least two meanings, regarding dance position and regarding footwork
a figure performed in open position
a figure in which during the last step the moving foot passes the support foot, examples include the 'feather step' in Foxtrot and the 'open left turn' in the 'Tango'
Open diapason
in an organ, an 8 ft. or 16 ft. pitch stop, in which pipes or tubes (usually made of metal), open at one end, have flageolet-like mouthpieces at the other into which the air is blown
Open D (tuning)
an alternate tuning for the acoustic or electric guitar including (low to high): D-A-D-F#-A-D
the first ending in a medieval secular piece, usually cadencing on a pitch other than the final
Open fifth
see 'bare fifth'
Open form
a term sometimes used for 'mobile' or 'polyvalent' musical forms, where the order of movements or sections is indeterminate or left up to the performer
Open G (tuning)
an alternate tuning for the acoustic or electric guitar including (from low to high): D-G-D-G-B-D
Open harmony
or dispersed harmony, a form of harmony where the notes are separated by wide intervals, usually where, in four part harmony, the three highest parts spread beyond the compass of an octave
Openingsdeel
(Dutch) opening section
Open key
in score writing, without a clef sign, (a clefless staff may be used to represent a set of percussion sounds; each line typically represents a different instrument)
Open music
music that is shareable, available in "source code" form, allows derivative works and is free of cost for non-commercial use. It is the concept of "open source" computer software applied to music. Open Music is one of the general responses to the RIAA's and governmental actions against the music industry and its consumers
a note played on an open string of a string instrument. A note, where a finger touches the string in order to shorten the sounding length, is called a 'stopped note'
the natural notes on a brass wind instrument that do not make use of valves or stopping
a note sign where the notehead is an open circle or oval, i.e. a breve (double note), semibreve (whole note) or minim (half note)
Open order
synonymous with 'open harmony'
Open pedal
on the piano, the 'loud pedal'
Open pipe
a pipe open at one end, which has a pitch close to an octave higher than a closed pipe of the same mechanical length
Open poetic form
a poem of variable length, one which can consist of as many lines as the poet wishes to write. Every poem written in open poetic form, therefore, is unique. Open poetic form contrasts with closed poetic form, in which the specific subgenre of poetry requires a predetermined number of stanzas, lines, feet, or other components
any dance position in couple dances, in which the partners stand apart facing each other without body support of the closed position, possibly holding each other's hand(s)
nearly all beginning guitarists start off by learning open-position chords (sometimes called essential chords), because these chords are easy to play using chord diagrams and they form the building blocks of most folk and rock songs. For some open-position chords, you play the first four or five strings only; for others you play all six. All open-position chords require you to play at least one open (unfretted) string - hence the term "open-position" chord [entry prompted by Austin Nelson]
also called 'begin-repeat sign' or 'repeat start', marking the beginning of a passage to be repeated
Open score
a full score, where each part of the harmony is written upon a separate staff
Open shake
see 'shake'
OpenSound Control
or OSC, a communication protocol which allows musical instruments (especially electronic musical instruments such as synthesizers), computers, and other multimedia devices to share music performance data in realtime over a network
(English) an unstopped string, corda vuota (Italian f.), Offene Saite (German f.), corde à jour (French f.), corde à vide (French f.), , corda solta (Portuguese f.), losse Snaar (Dutch)
Open stops
sets of organ pipe where all the pipes are open
Open syllable
any syllable ending in a vowel, like the word tree
Open temperament
see 'temperament'
Open throat
in voice production, a condition considered desirable for resonance
Open tuning
an open tuning is simply one that gives the sound of a chord, either major or minor, when the guitar is strummed without being fretted. The tuning is often named by this chord. For instance, if the guitar sounds a G major chord when strummed, the tuning will be named open G. If the chord is a D minor, then the tuning will probably be called open D minor, or simply D minor
a flue pipe of large scale and rectangular wooden construction, usually found on the pedal organs of mid nineteenth to mid twentieth century instruments
(Italian f., English, Spanish f., Swedish) an abbreviation of opera in musica, a musical form originating from the seventeenth century, a drama sung to the accompaniment of instruments, which may involve one or more singers, is generally performed 'in costume' and, where sung, musical numbers may be separated by 'recitative' or spoken dialogue
Italian opera, the pastoral, French classical tragedy, and the ballet de cour ('court ballet') were the antecedents of French opera. French opera began officially in 1669 with the establishment of the Académie royale de Musique, which was taken over by Jean Baptiste Lully in 1672 after the bankruptcy of its founders
Opéra-ballet
(French m., Opéra-Ballet (German n.)) a form that originated in France where dance had been an important ingredient of opera since the early ballet de cour. The first important opéra-ballet was L'Europe galant (1697) composed by André Campra (1660-1744) while one of the most famous examples of the genre is Les Indes galantes (1735) composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Opera ballo
(Italian f.) one of the major differences between operatic customs in France (Paris) and Italy lies in the role of and attitude to the ballet. Parisian audiences invariably demanded a formal ballet, which would be an integral part of the opera, and, often, played a role in the plot. Italians also loved the ballet, but, in Italy, it was customary to provide a ballet independent of the opera, usually between the acts of the opera. Of course, the ballet might or might not be different between the premiere of an opera and subsequent stagings in the same or another city. The net result was that, if, as an example, Giuseppe Verdi wanted to stage his Il trovatore in French at the Opéra, he would have to add a ballet. This would not be necessary for performances in Italian at the Théâtre Italien. Italian operas with their own ballet (opera ballo) started to become relatively common in the late 1860s and 1870s
Opera ballo from which this introduction has been taken
Opera, baroque
see 'Baroque opera'
Opéra bouffe (s.), Opéra bouffes (pl.)
(French m.) a genre of late 19th century French operetta
(French m.) the French term for the Italian genre of opera called opera buffa performed in eighteenth-century France, either in the original language or in French translation. The term is sometimes confused with the French opéra comique
(German f, Italian f.) also known as commedia in musica, commedia per musica, comic opera, dramma bernesco, dramma comico, divertimento giocoso, dramma giocoso, derived from a short comic scene that formed the conclusion of opera seria, which later became the intermezzo. Its subject, everyday characters in comic scenes, appeared first in Mazzocchi's Chi soffre spere (1639) to a text written by the future Pope Clement IX. It was at first characterized by everyday settings, local dialects, and simple vocal writing (the Basso buffo is the associated voice type), the main requirement being clear diction and facility with patter. In France, opéra comique tended to be more satirical and differed as well in having spoken dialogue in place of recitativo secco
the Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique (National theatre of Opéra comique) is an opera company and opera house in Paris. The Opéra-Comique company was established in 1714 to offer French opera as an alternative to Italian opera that then dominated the continent. Productions at the Opéra-Comique distinguished from those at the Académie Royale de Musique by their less formal requirements. French opéra comique, in the 19th century at least, did not have to be comic; the term covered a much wider category of work
(German f., French m., literally 'comic opera' although for the French 'comedy' had a somewhat different meaning to that in England or Italy) the elements of opéra comique changed over time:
early eighteenth century
farces and satires using spoken dialoque with vaudevilles (airs or ariettes) or popular tunes
later eighteenth century
the genre became the sentimental comédie larmoyante or comédie mêlée d'ariettes
early nineteenth century
more like serious opera only retaining spoken dialogue which by then had been banned at the Opéra
(Italian) a short opera to be performed in a room or some other restricted setting
Opera-gebouw
(Dutch) opera-house
Opera-gezelschap
(Dutch) operatic company
Opéra héroïque
(French) an heroic opera
Opera house
a building where operas are performed. The venues are usually constructed specifically with opera in mind, although other performing arts may be performed there
(French m.) lyric opera, a style of opera that flourished in nineteenth-century France, lighter than the more profound serious opera, less substantial than grand opera but eschewing the spoken dialogue of opera-comique
Opera minora
(Latin) minor works, the less important works (of an author)
Opera omnia
(Latin) complete works, the whole output (of an author)
Opera oratorio
a stage work combining elements from opera and oratorio, for example, Oedipus Rex by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Opera semiseria
(Italian f., literally 'half-serious opera') a term that originated in the second half of the eighteenth century to describe a work in which serious and comic elements are combined. The form was established by Niccolò Piccinni (1728-1800) with La buona figliuola (1760) which was later to influence Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801), Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816), and particularly Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), for example, in Le nozze di Figaro (1786) and Cosi fan tutti (1790)
Opera seria
(German f., Italian f., literally 'serious opera') Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated and moved to Rome, orchestrated the movement that became, shortly after her death, the Arcadian reforms of the 1690s which led almost directly to the full flowering of opera seria, eighteenth-century operas that adopted the 'Metastasian' format established by the eighteenth-century Italian librettist Metastasio. The libretti were based on mythological or ancient historical subjects and the role of the hero was usually performed by a castrato. The association between this opera form and Naples has led to it being called 'Neapolitan' opera although it was originally termed dramma per musica (drama in music)
an interlude between passages of accompanied recitative in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century stage works, of which there were four types:
dialogue air
used as an alternative to recitative, with continuo accompaniment
monologue air
an extended piece, on the scale of an Italian aria, reserved for moments of emotional crisis
maxim air
a reflection on the vicissitudes of life, often in a light-hearted way
dance-song
a song suitable for dancing
Operation
(English, German f.) a procedure, a process, an action, a method of working (for example, as carried out on a patient in a hospital)
sich einer Operation unterziehen (German: to have an operation)
Operationssaal
(German m.) or chirurgische Hörsaal (German m.), operating theatre
operative Kehlkopfentfernung
(German f.) laryngectomy
Opera-ton
(German m.) or tief Cammerton (German m.), late 17th/early 18th century pitch at about a'=390Hz
Operculum
(Latin) a lid
in human neuroanatomy, an area of the left and right frontal lobe in the lower (inferior) part of the premotor cortex. It roughly corresponds to where Broca's area is in the left hemisphere
sometimes used erroneously in place of opusculum (Latin: a literary or musical composition on a small scale)
Opere
(Latin) work
Opere citato
(Latin) in the work just quoted
the abbreviation Op. cit. is used to avoid using the repetition of a reference
Opereta
(Spanish f.) operetta, opérette (French)
Operetta
(English, Italian f.) in the form promoted by Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, operetta was light and short and contained interludes of spoken dialogue and dance, the precursor of musical comedy and the modern musical, the inspirer of the 'Savoy operas' of William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), and a strong influence on the success of the zarzuela in Spain
(French f.) a short light opera, operetta (Italian), opereta (Spanish)
Operette
(German f.) a short light opera, operetta (Italian), opereta (Spanish)
operieren
(German) to operate on (a patient, etc.)
Operist
(German) an opera singer
Operista
(Spanish m./f.) an opera singer
Opériste
(French m./f.) an opera singer
operistico
(Spanish) operatic
Oper-mädchen
(German) opera girl, opera singer
Opern-
(German prefix) operatic
Opernbetrieb
(German m.) opera scene
Opernchor
(German m.) opera chorus
Opernglas
(German n.) opera-glasses, binoculars
opernhaft
(German) operatic
Opernhaus
(German n.) opera-house
Opernkapellmeister
(German m.) opera house musical director (particularly an opera house with court connections)
Joseph Haydn arranged the repertoire for performance at the princely court opera house at Eszterháza; he shortened, transposed, changed the instrumentation, the musical form, or the formal design of certain numbers, added new arias and exchanged others
Opernmusik
(German m.) operaatic music
Opernorchester
(German n.) opera orchestra
Opernrealismus
(German m.) operatic realism, realism in opera
Opernsänger (m.), Opersängerin (f.)
(German) an opera singer
Opernstil
(German m.) style of opera, operatic style
Operntext
(German m.) libretto
Operntextbuch
(German n.) libretto
Operone
(Italian) an opera on a large scale, an opera produced with great magnificence
Oph
abbreviation of Ophikleide (German: Ophicleide - Ophicleïde (French))
Ophavsret
(Danish) copyright
op het eerste gezicht
(Dutch) at sight
op het gehoor
(Dutch) by ear
Ophibaryton
(French m.) Russian bassoon, upright serpent
Ophicleide
oficleide (Italian), Ophicleide (German), ophicléide (French m.), figle (Spanish m.), oficleido (Spanish m.), the large members of the bugle family, which were patented in 1817 by the French instrument maker Jean-Hilaire Asté (1775-1840) (also known as Halary), looked like a bassoon, had conical tubing made of brass (approx. 274 cm long, as on a Bb instrument, tube diameter 12.5-35.5 mm) with several keyed side-holes. By opening the holes the air column was shortened and the pitch increased. It worked on the same principle as woodwind instruments. A number of naturals could then be played from the fundamental tone thus produced. The range, a maximum of around three octaves, depended on the ability of the player. Intonation was very uncertain because several fingerings were possible for each note. The mouthpiece was cup-shaped, with a flat rim, the bell faced upward and had a diameter of about 21 cm. The huge volume made great demands on the breathing and the round, euphonium-like sound - which was very rugged in the bass - was very effective with brass played en masse, for example in military bands. It also blended very well with the choir. From 1821 until the end of the nineteenth century, the ophicleide was widely used as a bass voice. It is called for by Mendelssohn (Midsummer Night's Dream music, 1843, Reformation Symphony), Schumann, Meyerbeer (Robert the Devil), Verdi and Wagner (Rienzi). Hector Berlioz required several ophicleides in his Symphonie fantastique, but was one of the first composers to develop an enthusiasm for tubas, with which he proceeded to replace the ophicleides. Today all ophicleide parts are played by the bass tuba
a powerful reed stop of 8 ft. or 4 ft. scale, first introduced by W. Hill in the organ built for the Birmingham Town Hall, which was designed to be operated at great pressure. It was placed on its own sound-board
(French m.) ophicleide, oficleide (Italian m.), Ophikleide (German m.), figle (Spanish m.), oficleido (Spanish m.)
Ophicléide à pistons
(French m.) the name given in France to the earliest bass tubas
Ophicléide monstre (en Fa)
(French m.) known in Germany as a Bombardon and in Italy as a corno basso chromatico, this member of the ophicleide family had a great strength of tone
Opikeh
(Nigeria) a side-blown Igede talking instrument made from antelope horn, traditionally used as a battle-signalling instrument, but now used as an ensemble instrument
Ophikleide
(German f.) ophicleide, oficleide (Italian m.), ophicléide (French m.), figle (Spanish m.), oficleido (Spanish m.)
Oplaag
(Dutch) edition
Oplag
(Danish) edition, impression
Opløsningstegn
(Danish) the sign placed before a note that is neither sharpened or flattened
oplossing
(Dutch) cancellation, resolution
Opmaat
(Dutch) anacrucis, upbeat
op muziek zetten
(Dutch) to set to music
Opp., opp.
abbreviated form of the plural form of opus, namely opera
abbreviated form of oppure
Oppana
a dance form essential to the wedding entertainment and festivities of the Malabar Muslims
where two voices move in the opposite direction, one ascending while the other is descending
op.posth.
a designation used in place of op. to show that a work was published after the death of its composer
Opprobrium
(Latin) the disgrace consequent on shameful conduct, reproach, abuse
Opptryk
(Norwegian) reprint
oppure
(Italian) or, else
Opra
(Italian f.) work, one day's work, day-labourer
Oprekelj
(Slovenia) dulcimer
Opslag
(Dutch) upbeat
Opstreek
(Dutch) up-stroke
Optakt
(Danish) anacrusis, upbeat, the initial note of a melody that occurs before the first barline
optare
(Italian) to choose
optare per
(Italian) to opt
Optical blending
the process by which the eye perceives a single colour that is actually a mixture of two or more different reflective colours. If magenta is printed on a page in small dots leaving white paper showing, both will reflect back to the eye as pink. If the proper number of yellow dots are interspersed within it, it will then appear as orange
Optical brighteners
chemicals similar to dyes that absorb high energy light in the violet and ultraviolet wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and reflect it back out as blue light. A surface treated with an optical brightener emits more visible light than shines on to it, making it appear brighter. This increase in blue wavelengths also creates a whitening effect by making materials look less yellow. Brighteners are used in a variety of papers including modern photo papers
Optical radiation
electromagnetic radiation (light) that is visible to the human eye
Optical tones
different values of grey as perceived by the eye that are created by a series of different sized markings, usually dots, of one single value. When the marks fall beneath the size where they can be perceived apart from their substrate they take on the illusion of a solid tone. By varying the proportions between the dark ink marks printed and a lighter backdrop an entire tonal range from black to white can be produced in either subtle transitions or solid hard edged shapes. Most optical tones derive from the employment of line screens in reproduction to create halftones
op tijd
(Dutch) on time
Optimates
(Latin pl.) the members of the patrician order in ancient Rome, the 'best' people, the artistocracy
Optimum
(Latin) the best, the most favourable (conditions, situation, circumstances, etc.)
Optophonic piano
invented by the avant-garde painter and inventor of colour music, Vladimir Baranov-Rossine (ne Shulim Wolf Baranov) (1 Jan 1888 (Old Style 20 Dec. 1887) - 1942). Just like the composer Alexander Skryabin, who included a 'colour line' in the score for his 1910 composition, Prometheus, the painter wanted to blend colour and sound. He constructed an optophonic piano - an instrument whose keys produced not only sound but also projected corresponding rays of light through filters which Rossine had painted which were reflected onto a large screen. Created in 1914 and displayed to the public during the world's first colour music shows at the Bolshoi Theatre and at Meyerhold's, the 'optophone' was patented ten years later in Paris, the city where Baranov settled with his family in 1925 after fleeing persecutions at home
Optryk
(Danish) reprint
opuesto (m.), opuesta (f.)
(Spanish) opposite
opulento
(Italian) opulent, rich
Opulenza
(Italian f.) opulence
Opus (s.), Opera (pl.)
(English, German n., Latin) work
the singular, opus followed by a number, when used in English, indentifies the chronology of the composition or publication of a musical work. In many cases works are classified by referring to catalogues produced after the composer's death as for example with BWV, Köchel, Kirkpatrick, etc.
Opüs
(German) opus
Opuscule
(French) tract, pamphlet
Opusculetto
(Italian m.) small pamphlet
Opusculo
(Spanish m., Italian m.) tract, pamphlet, bulletin
Opusculum (s.), Opuscula (pl.)
(Latin) a literary or musical composition on a small scale
Opus dei
(Latin) work of God
Opus number
placed after the word opus, or its abbreviation Op., the opus number is generally an indication of a work's place in a composer's oeuvre, particularly as regards the work's date of publication. Thus, Opus 1 (or Op. 1) will be the composer's first published work
see opus postumum
Opus postumum
(Latin) a posthumous work, published after the death of the composer (often abbreviated to op. post.)
