Books › Pronouncing dictionary of musical terms, giving the meaning, derivation, and pronunciation … of Italian, German, French, and other words; the names with date of birth and death and nationality of the leading musicians of the last two centuries; English vocabulary, with equivalents in Italian, Germ, 1896 › scan 91
Scan 91
Pronouncing dictionary of musical terms, giving the meaning, derivation, and pronunciation … of Italian, German, French, and other words; the names with date of birth and death and nationality of the leading musicians of the last two centuries; English vocabulary, with equivalents in Italian, Germ, 1896
36 lines. Read by computer on 24 September 2026. Printed page 87. See the scan on archive.org.
1Smorzando (It.) (smor-tzan'-do). Lit., "smothering;" morendo.
2Snare Drum. See Drum.
3Soave (It.) (so-a'-veh). Sweet.
4Soavemente (It.) (so-a-veh-men'-teh). Sweetly.
5Sogetto (It.). Subject; theme of a fugue.
6Sognando (It.) (sone-yan'-do). Dreaming; dreamily.
7Sol. The note G in Italian, French, and Spanish; fifth Aretinian syllable.
8Solenne (It.) (so-len'-neh). Solemn.
9Solennemente (It.) (so-len-neh-men'-teh). Solemnly.
10Solennita (It.) (so-len'-nee-ta), con. With solemnity.
11Sol-fa (verb). To sing with the syllables.
12Solfeggio (It.) (sol-fed-jo). (1) A vocal exercise. (2) Used by Bach as a name for certain short instrumental pieces.
13Solmization. A method of learning to sing by the application of syllables to the scale. The earliest invention of this method of fixing the succession of sounds forming the scale in the memory is attributed to Guido of Arezzo (ah-rets-o), who used for this purpose the syllables ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, having chanced to observe that these syllables—the first in the successive lines of a Latin hymn—were sung to six successive notes which formed a hexachord scale: C, D, E, F, G, A. There were seven hexachord scales, as follows: First began on G, 1st line bass staff; this was called the hexachordum durum (hard hexachord). Second began on C, a 4th higher. Third began on F, another 4th higher; in this scale B was flat; it was called the hexachordum molle (soft hexachord). Fourth, fifth, and sixth were respectively an octave higher than the first, second, and third, and the seventh was two octaves higher than the first. The first note of every scale was called ut (afterward changed to do), therefore from its inception "do" was "movable." Various modifications of these syllables have at different times been used for solmization. One extensively used at one time was the practice of using only four of them, viz., mi, fa, sol, la. These were so arranged that mi always fell upon the third note in the tetrachord, for example, the scale of C was solfaed thus:—
15Tetrachord. Tetrachord.
16C D E F | G A B C
17sol la mi fa sol la mi fa
19It was owing to the difficulty and, to ancient ears, harshness of the skip from the fa of the lower tetrachord to the mi of the upper that the expression, "mi contra fa," came to have a proverbial meaning. This interval, called the tritone (three tones), was by the ancient theorists stigmatized as "tritonus diabolus est." New syllables have at different times been proposed; one scheme of which the syllables were bo, ce, di, ga, lo, ma, ni, was called bocedization; another with da, me, ni, po, hi, la, be, was called damenization. The only modifications and additions to the syllables that have been permanently adopted are those used by the "Tonic Solfaists," q. v.
21Solo (It.) (plural, Soli). Alone; a composition in which the principal part is taken by one voice or instrument. Solo Parts are those sung or played by single performers as distinguished from chorus or tutti passages.
23Somma (It.). Utmost; as Con somma espressione, with the utmost expression.
25Sonabile (It.) (so-nah'-bee-leh), Sonante (so-nan'-teh). Resonant; sounding; sonorous.
27Sonare (It.) (so-nah'-reh). To sound; to play upon.
29Sonata (It.) (so-nah'-tah). "Sound piece." (1) The highest development of musical form. (2) In modern use, an extended composition with several movements for pianoforte, or pianoforte in conjunction with one other instrument. A composition of this class for more than two instruments is called trio, quartet, etc.; for full orchestra, a symphony. The "form" of the sonata (see Form) has undergone many modifications since it was first adopted, about the beginning of the 17th century. At first it was applied indifferently to any instrumental piece, such, for example, as were commonly called "airs." Those written for the harpsichord or for viols were called "sonata da camera." Those for the organ (or frequently those for harpsichord or viols, if written in grave style), "sonata da chiesa" (church sonata). The distinguishing characteristic of the modern sonata form is the possession of two themes in different keys (see Scheme in article Form). The gradual growth of this binary development may be traced in the works of Kuhnau, Scarlatti, Alberti, Durante, and others. The binary form was first definitely settled by Ph. E. Bach. The only changes made since have been the immense development given to the form by Beethoven, and the adoption of other keys for the second theme.
31Sonata di chiesa (It.) (key-eh'-sa). A church sonata; organ sonata.
33Smith, Sidney. Composer, pianist; England. B. 1839; d. 1889.
35Södermann, J. A. (sood'-er-man). Composer; Sweden. B. 1832; d. 1876.
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