Ostinato |

ital. ostinato, from lat. obstinatus – stubborn, stubborn

Multiple repetition in music. prod. any melodic. or only rhythmic, sometimes harmonic. turnover. Combined with free development in other voices, it plays an important formative role. Although the term “O.” entered the music practice only at the beginning. 18 century, examples of the use of O. met much earlier – starting from the 13th century. (O. in tenor, for example, in the famous English “Summer Canon”), especially in polyphonic. wok. music of the 15th-16th centuries. (for example, various types of repetition of cantus firmus in motets and masses of composers of the Dutch school). From the 16th century O.’s use in bass has gained special importance (see Basso ostinato). In the 19th and 20th centuries the role of O. in Western Europe. music increases even more, which is determined by the awareness to express. the possibilities of this technique (the transfer of especially stable, “strong” states: tension build-up) and is to a certain extent connected with the influence of outside Europe. (especially African) music. cultures.

V. A. Vakhromeev