{"id":19907,"date":"2022-09-27T10:47:48","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T08:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=172482"},"modified":"2022-09-27T11:04:09","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T09:04:09","slug":"obbligato-meaning-what-the-word-obbligato-means-when-written-on-a-score","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/obbligato-meaning-what-the-word-obbligato-means-when-written-on-a-score\/","title":{"rendered":"Obbligato meaning: what the word obbligato means when written on a score"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By BBC Music Magazine\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 27 September 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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If you want to avoid upsetting any composers, make sure you pay attention to the \u2018obbligato\u2019 instruction on a music score.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does obbligato mean?<\/h2>\n

Italian for \u2018obliged\u2019, the term obbligato is used to indicate a crucial part of the piece that is not to be omitted or tampered with. Now is not the time to get experimental and start improvising with the tempo<\/a><\/strong> and dynamics, nor should you suddenly decide that elaborate piano solo in the middle of the piece isn\u2019t really necessary. Obbligato means you are obliged to play the score as it is written\u2026 or else!<\/p>\n

Obbligato is therefore the opposite of the direction \u2018ad lib\u2019, where the player is able to freestyle and improvise.<\/p>\n

However, the term obbligato evolved during the 18th<\/sup> century, and it is also used in relation to an elaborate accompaniment to the main melody of an ensemble or soloist, in which the accompaniment part is seen as having just as much importance within the piece.<\/p>\n

Examples of obbligato <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The third movement of Mahler\u2019s Symphony No 5<\/a><\/strong> contains an obbligato horn solo, while Bach<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Sonata in B minor for Flute and Obligato Harpsichord is another example.<\/p>\n

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