‖ testo Mus.
(ˈtesto)
[It. testo:—L. textu-m text.]
a. The text or words of a song; the libretto of an opera. b. The text, theme, or subject of a composition.
| 1724 Short Explic. For. Wds. in Mus. Bks., Testo, the Text or Words of a Song. 1801 Busby Dict. Mus., Testo,..the text, subject, or theme, of any composition... When the words are well written, the song is said to have a good testo. 1891 in Cent. Dict. 1898 in Stainer & Barrett. |
c. The narrator in an oratorio or similar piece of music.
| 1947 A. Einstein Music in Romantic Era xiii. 177 Through the gradual elimination of the testo or narrator, oratorio had approached opera to such a degree as to be confused with it. 1980 New Grove Dict. Mus. XVIII. 706/2 The testo part as normally set as recitative with continuo accompaniment and sung either by one or more soloists... In secular music the term was occasionally used for the narrator in dramatic dialogues and similar works. |