tessitura

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian tessitura. Doublet of texture.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɛsɪˈtʊəɹə/
• Rhymes: -ʊəɹə

Noun

tessitura (countable and uncountable, plural tessituras or tessiture)

1. (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 [...].

   • 2014, Jane Streeton, Philip Raymond, Singing on Stage, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 146:

     In classical voice training, and in the world of classical singing, voices are divided into categories dependent on timbre or tonal colour and tessitura or comfortable average pitch range.

Translations

most comfortable vocal range for a given singer

• Finnish: äänialan sisäinen mukavuusalue, tessitura (fi)
• French: tessiture (fr) f
• German: Gesangslage f, Tessitur f
• Italian: tessitura (it) f

Italian

Etymology

From tessere +‎ -tura. Compare Spanish tejedura, Portuguese tecedura, Romanian țesătură, Friulian tiessidure.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tes.siˈtu.ra/
• Rhymes: -ura
• Hyphenation: tes‧si‧tù‧ra

Noun

tessitura f (plural tessiture)

1. weaving
2. weaving mill
3. (music) tessitura (most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or musical instrument)

Related terms

• tessere

Descendants

• → English: tessitura
• → German: Tessitur
• → Spanish: tesitura

Further reading

• tessitura in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• eruttassi