Recitative And Aria

1 Pages 220 Words

There were several purposes for the recitative and aria in Opera. They each played their own role.
Recitative was a technique or style of solo singing that could be used for dramatic purposes. It was between spoken recitation and singing. The purpose of this was to tell a story, and to bring feeling into the piece of music. The audience could tell the emotion by the way it was being sung. In recitative the voice that is singing follows the rhythm. It exaggerates the ups and downs by raising his/her voice where emotion is taking place. Another purpose of recitative was to dialogue and plot actions. Basso continuo was used and accompaniment was kept to a minimum. In recitative, usually a cello or harpsichord was used. This occurred so the singer could better interpret the dialogue in the piece.
The Aria has much more elaboration. The aria includes accompaniment by an orchestra. The voice is more melodic. The singer wants to have an emotional outburst and get their feelings out. The aria is usually preceded or set up by a recitative.
The two are big parts in making the music sound beautiful. They added the touch that was needed in order to make the music come together....