motivicadj.
/ˈməʊtɪvɪk/, U.S. /ˈmoʊdᵻvɪk/ Music.
Of or relating to a musical motif or motifs. Cf. motific adj.2
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > [adjective] > theme
thematic1864
thematical1890
motivic1947
motific1970
1947 A. Einstein Music Romantic Era vii. 67 The thematic connection of the introductory Andante with the Allegro ma non troppo, a motivic ‘safeguard’ that one will not as yet find so clearly stressed in the Classics.
1961 Times 13 Oct. 18/6 A letter which he [sc. Webern] wrote..shows that his principal aim..was with its motivic coherence.
1991 Gramophone Jan. 1385/3 It is hard not to feel a very human excitement at Mantra's central climax when the players throw a basic motivic shape to and fro.
2001 N.Y. Times 6 May ii. 4/1 Perhaps we should recognize that motivic development à la Beethoven is not an appropriate model for a theatrical art like film music.
Compounds
Appositive, as motivic-contrapuntal adj.
ΚΠ
1959 Listener 16 July 114/1 These processes are not entirely explained by either motivic-contrapuntal or expansive-polyphonic methods.
Derivatives
moˈtivically adv. in accordance with, or by means of, a motif.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > [adverb] > theme
thematically1890
motivically1947
1947 A. Einstein Music Romantic Era xi. 144 He [sc. Liszt] also feels doubly strongly the need for grappling the parts of the whole together motivically.
1989 Jrnl. Musicol. 7 200 In motivically organized passages like these the harmonic motion is largely between I and V.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1947