recitative means of a recital. It carries an Arena rating of 1663, earned across 78 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, recitative ranks #572 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #3,858 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,839 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,901 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say.
recitative is pronounced /ɹɛˈsaɪtətɪv/.
Why “recitative” is a great word
RECITATIVE — [Noun] A style of vocal delivery in opera, oratorio, and cantata that imitates the rhythms and accents of speech, used primarily for narrative or dialogue and often with sparse musical accompaniment. From Italian recitativo, from recitare ("to recite"), from Latin recitō ("to read aloud, recite"). Unlike an "aria," which dwells in formal melody to crystallize emotion, or "declamation," which is rhetorical speech without structured musical pitch, recitative is the urgent, pliant connective tissue of drama. It is the hushed confession in a palace corridor, the stark announcement of a messenger over a few sustained chords, the argumentative sparring that propels a scene toward its lyrical rupture—the necessary, unadorned prose that makes the poetry of song feel earned.
Etymology
From Italian recitativo, from recitare, from Latin recitō.
noun
- dialogue, in an opera etc, that, rather than being sung as an aria, is reproduced with the rhythms of normal speech, often with simple musical accompaniment or harpsichord continuo, serving to expound the plot.e.g.“In Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience, Bunthorne performs the recitative "Am I Alone and Unobserved?" before going on to his solo aria "If You're Anxious For To Shine".”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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