ossia
ossia (It. o sia, ‘it may be’).
1. Term used in the sense of ‘or else’ to indicate an alternative version of a mus. passage, e.g. composer's simplified alternative for a difficult section, or ed.'s emendation of composer's text where it is presumed to be wrong.
2. Used in opera titles in the sense of ‘or’, e.g. Il dissoluto punito, ossia Il Don Giovanni.
1. Term used in the sense of ‘or else’ to indicate an alternative version of a mus. passage, e.g. composer's simplified alternative for a difficult section, or ed.'s emendation of composer's text where it is presumed to be wrong.
2. Used in opera titles in the sense of ‘or’, e.g. Il dissoluto punito, ossia Il Don Giovanni.
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ossia