ritornel

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ritornel (Fr. ritournelle; It. ritornello; Ger. Ritornell). A return (ritornello is a little return).

1. The refrain in 14th- and 15th-cent. madrigal-type comps.

2. An It. folk-song, each stanza of 3 lines, the last line rhyming with the first.

3. The repetition of the instr. introduction to a song, and hence also the instr. introduction itself.

4. In the classical conc., the return of the full orch. after a solo passage, same as tutti.

5. Synonym for da capo.

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