Word of the Week

drängend (Ger.) = hurrying, urging forward, pressing forward—as in Strauss’s Don Quixote “etwas drängend” (with some urgency)

perdendo (Itl.) = gradually dying away—as in Berlioz’ Requiem Mass

bewegt (Ger.) = agitated, with motion—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4

mechanicals (Eng.) = This term refers to mechanical royalties.  These royalties are monies paid to the copyright holders for the manufacture and distribution of recordings that contain their copyrighted work.  The copyright holder is not necessarily the person playing on an album.  It is usually the composer of the work or the composer’s agent (i.e., their publisher).  The term stems from the 1909 Copyright Law which referred to these monies as payments for devices “serving to mechanically reproduce sound.”  Devices haven’t reproduced sound “mechanically” for several decades; however, the term has stuck.

gezogen (Ger.) = drawn out, legato, portamento—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.7

capriccioso (Itl.) = a fanciful and irregular composition for piano, to play capriciously—as in Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition

gemächlich (Ger.) = leisurely—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.2 “sehr gemächlich” (very leisurely)

gemächlich (Ger.) = leisurely—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.2 “sehr gemächlich” (very leisurely)

col legno (Itl.) = with the wood.  This is an instruction to string players to play the written notes using the wood of their bow.  It usually refers to hitting the string percussively with the wood of the bow (col legno battuto) as opposed to drawing the wood of the bow across the string (col legno tratto).

lointain (Fre.) = distant, faint.  This word is used to tell the performer that they should sound distant—as in Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring “tres lointain” (very distant).

etwas (Ger.) = somewhat, a little bit—as in Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben “etwas langsamer” (somewhat more slowly)

belebend (Ger.) = lively, animated—as in Bruckners Symphony No.7 “etwas belebend” (somewhat animated)

12-bar blues (Eng.) = This term refers to a common chord progression that appears in hundreds of blues pieces.

bewegt (Ger.) = agitated, with motion—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4

volti subito (Itl.) = turn over quickly.  This term usually appears as V.S. at the bottom of a page to warn the player that they have notes to play immediately after the page turn.

volti subito (Itl.) = turn over quickly.  This term usually appears as V.S. at the bottom of a page to warn the player that they have notes to play immediately after the page turn.

hervortretend (Ger.) = prominent—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4 “p doch hervortretend” (soft but prominent).

hervortretend (Ger.) = prominent—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4 “p doch hervortretend” (soft but prominent).

ziemlich (Ger.) = rather, somewhat—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.1 “ziemlich langsam” (rather slow)

to the fore (Eng.) = prominent, to the front. This term usually appears after a dynamic mark to tell the player to bring out their line—as in Percy Grainger’s Handel in the Strand “f well to the fore”.

stretto (Itl.) = pressed, closed.  In fugue writing this word refers to entrances of the subject that occur progressively earlier it the contrapuntal textual.  It can also suggest  a hastening of the tempo—as in Sibelius’s Valse Triste.

anfangs (Ger.) = at the beginning—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4 “Tempo wie anfangs” (the tempo of the beginning)

bewegt (Ger.) = agitated, with motion—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4

anfangs (Ger.) = at the beginning—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4 “Tempo wie anfangs” (the tempo of the beginning)

anfangs (Ger.) = at the beginning—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4 “Tempo wie anfangs” (the tempo of the beginning)

bewegt (Ger.) = agitated, with motion—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4

suono (Itl.) = sound—as in Sibelius’s The Swan of Tuonela “con gran suono” (with a big sound)

pavillon (Itl.) = the bell of a wind (particularly brass) instrument—as in Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring “pavillon en l’air” (hold bell up in the air)

anschwellend/anschwellung (Ger.) = crescendo, gradually get louder—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4 “ohne anschwellung” (without getting louder)

stringendo (Itl.) = pressing forward, accelerando—as in Stravinsky’s Petroushka

ausdrucksvoll (Ger.) = expressively—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.1 “weich und ausdrucksvoll” (tender and expressively)

drag (Eng.) = Among other uses, this term is used by percussionist to refer to a rapid combination of three strokes on a drum which utilizes a double stroke on the first two hits (right–right–left or left–left–right).

recitativo (Itl., Spa.) = a vocal style used in opera, oratorio, cantata, or other multi-movement vocal compositions design to imitate natural speech inflection as opposed to the aesthetics of melody and phrasing.  In opera, it often serves to carry the action and move the plot forward.

misura (Itl.) = measure, regularity, in strict time.  This term is usually used to indicate when a passage is to be performed either in or out of strict time—as in Verdi’s Falstaff “senza misura” (unmeasured)

bewegt (Ger.) = agitated, with motion—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4

misura (Itl.) = measure, regularity, in strict time.  This term is usually used to indicate when a passage is to be performed either in or out of strict time—as in Verdi’s Falstaff “senza misura” (unmeasured)

misura (Itl.) = measure, regularity, in strict time.  This term is usually used to indicate when a passage is to be performed either in or out of strict time—as in Verdi’s Falstaff “senza misura” (unmeasured)

bewegt (Ger.) = agitated, with motion—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4

hautbois (Fre.) = oboe

feierlich (Ger.) = solemn—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.7 “sehr feierlich” (very solemnly)

ancora (Itl.) = still, yet—as in Verdi’s Requiem “ancora più p” (still softer)

zurückhaltend/zurückhaltung (Ger.) = hold back or retard the tempo—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.1 “sehr zurückhaltend” (very held back)

clatteringly (Eng.) = boisterously, strepitoso—as in Percy Grainger’s Handel in the Strand

schwer (Ger.) = heavily—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.7

vorwärts (Ger.) = forwards, piü mosso—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.2

incalzando (Itl.) = in a pressing or chasing manner—as in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.6

incalzando (Itl.) = in a pressing or chasing manner—as in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.6

packaging deduction (Eng.) = This term refers to a deduction made to a recording artist’s royalties by the record company.  It was introduced by the recording companies under the premise that an artist (whose royalties are based on a percentage of the selling price of the recording) should not earn royalties on the cost of the packaging of the LP, 8-track, cassette, or compact disc.  In reality, this deduction (which is defined as a percentage of the SRLP) is far more than the actual cost to package a recording yet it remains a effective tool for the recording company to lower the amount on which the recording artist’s royalties are calculated.

zart (Ger.) = delicate, tender, soft—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.1 “zart gesungen” (delicately sung)

calando (Itl.) = dying away in volume (and sometimes tempo as well)—as in Prokofiev’s Symphony No.5

calando (Itl.) = dying away in volume (and sometimes tempo as well)—as in Prokofiev’s Symphony No.5

notes inégales (Fre.) = unequal notes.  This term is used to describe a performance practice, prevalent in France from 1690–1780, in which pairs of notes written with equal rhythmic value are played with unequal duration, usually by slightly lengthening the the first note and shortening the second.  A similar practice reappeared in the twentieth century with the development of jazz.

eilen (Ger.) = hurry, rush, accelerate—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.5 “nicht eilen” (unrushed)

set B (Eng.) = This term refers to a standardized number of instrumental parts offered by publishers of orchestral music.  It includes a Wind Set (1 of each of the woodwind, brass and percussion parts) plus 5 of each of the 1st violin and 2nd violin parts and 3 of each of the viola, cello and contrabass parts (5-5-3-3-3).

set C (Eng.) = This term refers to a standardized number of instrumental parts offered by publishers of orchestral music.  It includes a Wind Set (1 of each of the woodwind, brass and percussion parts) plus 8 of each of the 1st violin and 2nd violin parts and 5 of each of the viola, cello and contrabass parts (8-8-5-5-5).

all’ ottava (Itl.) = at the octave.  This term appears above notes to instruct the player that the notes under it should be played one octave higher.  For indicating that several notes should be transposed, a dotted line is extended from the “8va”.  A short vertical dash at the end of the dotted line indicates the end of the transposed section.

wieder (Ger.) = again—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.2 “wieder sehr breit” (again very broad)

lebhaft (Ger.) = lively, vivacious—as in Wagner’s Die Walküre

compulsory mechanical license (Eng.) = Section 115 of the Copyright Act states that once a piece of music has been recorded, a copyright owner must offer a mechanical license to anyone else who wants to use it in another recording as long as certain criteria are met.  The maximum dollar amount of this license is set by law and is called the statutory rate.

statutory rate (Eng.) = This term refers to a maximum fee that a person wishing to obtain a compulsory mechanical license to record copyrighted material may be charge by the copyright holder.  A US congressional committee called a Copyright Royalty Tribunal meets periodically to review and, if necessary, adjust this rate.  Effective January 2006, the statutory rate is the greater of 9.1 cents or 1.75 cents per minute of playing time (or fraction thereof) per piece per unit (cassette, CD, DVD, etc.) made.  Most
record labels negotiate with copyright holders to pay 75% of the current rate.

bewegt (Ger.) = agitated, with motion—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4

bewegt (Ger.) = agitated, with motion—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.4

zeitmaβ/zeitmass (Ger.) = tempo—as in Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche “im Zeitmass des Anfangs” (in the tempo of the beginning)

scordatura (Itl.) = the practice of tuning one or more of the open strings of a stringed instrument to a non-standard pitch—as in Saint-Saëns’ Dance Macabre

flam (Eng.) = This word is used indicate two single strokes on a drum, one played by each hand.  It is a drummer’s equivalent of a metered note preceded by a grace note.  Flams infest marches and the technique of bad snare drummers.

ruhig (Ger.) = peaceful, calm—as in Bruckner’s Symphony No.8

mässig/mäβig (Ger.) = moderately—as in Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra! “Mässig langsam, mit Andacht” (moderately slow, with reverence)

tromba (Itl.) = trumpet

C.B.A. (Eng.) = This acronym stands for collective bargaining agreement, which is an agreement drafted between a local Musicians’ Union office and an organization seeking to employ union musicians.  The agreement spells out the minimum wages and conditions that the musicians may work under for the employer.

heftig (Ger.) = boisterous, vehement—as in Mahler’s Symphony No.5 “heftig drängend” (vehemently pushing forward)

ripieno (Itl.) = the larger of the two ensembles in a Baroque concerto grosso

gewichtig (Ger.) = heavy, with dignity—as in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg “sehr gewichtig” (very heavy)

en dehors (Fre.) = emphasized, prominent—as in Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring “très en dehors” (very prominently)

cédez (Fre.) = yield, slow down—as in Poulenc’Sonata for Trumpet, Horn and Trombone “cédez peu à peu” (slow down little by little)

Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Ger.) = Bach work catalog—Usually appearing as simply BWV, it is a catalog system for the works of J.S. Bach.  A catalog number follows the acronym and identifies a specific composition of J.S. Bach according to the organizational system developed by Wolfgang Schmieder.

Köchel Verzeichnis (Ger.) = Köchel catalog—This is a catalog system developed by Sir Ludwig von Köchel for the compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  The Köchel Verzeichnis is typically designated by the letter K or KV followed by a catalog number.  Since there have been many revisions and corrections made to the catalog since its first publication in 1862, there are some compositions that have two, or even three, Köchel numbers—as in Mozart’s Symphony in B-Flat major, K182=K166c=K173dA .