saltarello

views updated May 18 2018

sal·ta·rel·lo / ˌsaltəˈrelō; ˌsôl-/ • n. (pl. -rel·los or -rel·li / -ˈrelē/ ) an energetic Italian or Spanish dance for one couple, characterized by leaps and skips.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

saltarello

views updated May 14 2018

saltarello (modern It. salterello). Lively dance of Sp. and It. provenance in varying metres (6/8, 3/4, 3/8, 6/4), incorporating jumps. In 16th cent. was the after-dance (Nachtanz) to a pavan or passamezzo, the mus. often being indistinguishable from a galliard. Mendelssohn called the finale of his ‘Italian’ Sym. a saltarello.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE

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