tintinnabuli means A compositional style characterized by two types of voice, the first of which (the "tintinnabular voice") arpeggiates the tonic triad, and the second of which moves diatonically in stepwise motion. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
Why “tintinnabuli” is a great word
TINTINNABULI — [Noun] A compositional technique, formulated by Arvo Pärt, in which one voice arpeggiates a tonic triad while a second voice moves diatonically in stepwise motion. From Latin tintinnābulum (“a small bell, especially a monastic bell”). Coined in the 1970s by the composer Arvo Pärt. Unlike “minimalism” (a broad aesthetic of repetition and reduction) or “polyphony” (the interweaving of independent melodic lines), tintinnabuli is a devotional architecture of strict, interdependent voices. It is the patient descent of a single melodic line down a scale, each note braced by the shimmering, immutable triad above it; the austere geometry of a thought walking its measured path within a ringing present; the sound of a solitary note finding its home within an eternal chord. It is music pared down to essence: one note choosing, and the triad forgiving.
noun
- A compositional style characterized by two types of voice, the first of which (the "tintinnabular voice") arpeggiates the tonic triad, and the second of which moves diatonically in stepwise motion.