melismaticadj.
/ˌmɛlᵻzˈmatɪk/, U.S. /ˌmɛləzˈmædɪk/ Music.
Of or relating to a melisma or melismata; characterized by melismata; spec. denoting a style of music in which individual syllables may be set to several notes.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > ornament > [adjective] > florid
figurate1708
figurative1744
coloured1853
florid1876
melismatic1877
figured1879
figural1938
1877 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 63 The metre..is partly lost in declamation and entirely effaced in song, while the rhyme, though perfectly preserved in declamation, spoils declamation by enforcing false accents, and is almost entirely lost in melismatic song.
1895 C. F. A. Williams in H. B. Briggs Elem. Plainsong 37 We must now come to the analysis of what is called Melismatic Plainsong, in which groups of notes are sung to the single syllables, while only occasionally a syllable is sung to a single note.
1909 C. H. H. Parry J. S. Bach 99 A recitative for soprano with a beautiful melismatic close.
1936 Jrnl. Theol. Stud. 37 165 Does that mean that these sequences were originally intended to be sung as they stand, and that afterwards the melismatic form was combined with the syllabic?
1972 Times 29 May 5/4 The sopranos, soaring effortlessly through melismatic phrases like ‘music’, ‘praise’ and ‘rejoice’.
1992 Option July 114/3 But the essential cry of Jajouka is the melismatic squealing of the ghaita, a high-pitched pipe.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1877