Musical Forms
| A cappella | in chapel style | Sung with total no instrumental accompaniment |
| Aria | air | A song, esp. one from an opera |
| Arietta | little air | A short or light aria |
| Ballabile | danceable | (song) to be danced to |
| Battaglia | battle | An instrumental or vocal piece suggesting a battle |
| Bergamasca | from Bergamo | A peasant dance from Bergamo |
| Burletta | a little joke | A light comic or farcical opera |
| Cadenza | falling | A florid solo at the end of a performance |
| Cantata | sung | A piece for orchestra and singers |
| Capriccio | caprice | A lively piece of music |
| Coda | tail | The end of a piece |
| Concerto | concert | A work for one or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra |
| Concertino | little concert | A short concerto; the solo instrument in a concerto |
| Concerto grosso | big concert | A Baroque form of concerto, with a group of solo instruments |
| Intermezzo | interval | A short connecting instrumental movement |
| Libretto | little book | A work containing the words to an opera, musical, or ballet |
| Opera | work | A drama set to music for singers and instrumentalists |
| Opera buffa | humorous opera | A comic opera |
| Opera seria | serious opera | An opera with a serious, esp. classical theme |
| Sonata | sounded | A composition for one or two instruments in sonata form |
Read more about this topic: Italian Musical Terms Used In English
Famous quotes containing the words musical and/or forms:
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The time will come when the evil forms we have known can no more be organized. Man’s culture can spare nothing, wants all material. He is to convert all impediments into instruments, all enemies into power.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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