tessitura
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Italian tessitura. Doublet of texture.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tessitura (countable and uncountable, plural tessituras or tessiture)
- (music) The most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a singer or musical instrument; the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding timbre.
- Hyponyms: soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, counter tenor, tenor, baritone, bass
- Coordinate term: compass
- 1995, Anthony Burgess, Byrne:
- Byrne shrugged. He started writing a bravura / Opera based on Cleopatra’s death, / Exploiting all Maria’s tessitura, / With a high F before her final breath.
- 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador, published 2007, page 257:
- Anne's talented voice made the lines I had written swoop, howl, and whine through an authentically Thatcherite tessitura [...].
Translations edit
Italian edit
Etymology edit
From tessere + -tura. Compare Spanish tejedura, Portuguese tecedura, Romanian țesătură, Friulian tiessidure.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tessitura f (plural tessiture)
- weaving
- weaving mill
- (music) tessitura (most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or musical instrument)
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
Further reading edit
- tessitura in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana