tessitura
Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- noun The prevailing range of a vocal or instrumental part, within which most of the tones lie.
Examples
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The role is no walk in the tenor park: it's written to be sung in the upper tessitura register.
Pia Catton, 'A Philadelphia Son Storms the Met,' Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2011
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Some of the most expressive music is reserved for the cross-dressed Amastris, whose tessitura is so low that in the final ensemble it is she who takes the tenor line.
George Heymont: Going For Baroque With Handel's Xerxes, Huffington Post, November 25, 2011
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Marisol Montalvo, the soprano who took it on, is another Eschenbach favorite, and with reason: She has the musical chops to bring off this difficult piece, and the tessitura to reach the stratosphere of the high notes, where the score kept her much of the time.
Note
This word is Italian in origin and comes from the Latin 'textura,' web, structure.
