Often when reading various musical literature, one may come across the term "tessitura". This concept will be considered in this article. This material can be useful to students of music schools, students of higher educational institutions of the corresponding profile, as well as a wide range of art lovers.
Definition of tessitura
The photo below shows the ranges of singing voices of popular artists. In other words, in the image you can see that range of sounds that this or that vocalist can reproduce.
It is usually indicated by two notes: the top and bottom. A range can be defined not only for voice or for any instrument, but also for any musical composition. As already mentioned, only two notes are used to designate it.
Accordingly, considerable effort is not required to determine the range. Much more difficult to identify tessitura. In music, this word denotes only the range that is most actively used in a particular composition. So, for example, if the note of the third octave is found twice in the part of the instrument, while the rest of the melody is much lower and does not go beyond, then the above salt is not included in the tessitory of this work.
Purpose to a specific tool
From the first chapter of the article, it is clear that tessitura is the most actively used range of a specific musical work. Why is it designated? Usually this is done to determine which instrument or singing voice to give one or another choral or orchestral part.
It is known that each vocal timbre and instrument has its own range in which it can perform works. In addition, his tessitura is also determined. This is done for a specific purpose. It is usually said that one or another part is written in tenor, or in soprano, or alto tessitura. Similarly, you can specify the instrument on which it is best to perform this work or its individual part.
For the sake of convenience
As you know, any instrument or human voice most easily reproduces the middle part of its range. Musicians, as a rule, take these notes without special efforts. The game within these limits is the most expressive in terms of dynamic shades. The human vocal cords and the sounding membranes of most musical instruments are designed in such a way that it is very difficult to play high sounds quietly, and low sounds - on the contrary, loudly.
The middle register here is also the most convenient territory for creativity. Thus, the most optimal tessitura for a musical instrument is one that coincides with the middle part of its range. Most choral and orchestral parts are built on the principle of maximum convenience for performers.
Exceptional Cases
The situation is different with the solo parties. It is assumed that in the performance of their musician shows his masterly possession of the instrument. Accordingly, students should see that he is not afraid of the game in high and low registers. Thus, we can say that tessitura is a means of delimiting functions between individual parties. Solo musicians can play fragments that are not always convenient for playing, and accompanying parts are usually more convenient.
Means of musical expression
But tessitura serves not only for the purposes indicated above. Sometimes there are times when the composer intentionally writes the part in an uncomfortable tessitory for this instrument. As it is right, this is done not from the absence of certain skills and inexperience, but with a specific artistic purpose. For example, in the opera Nose, Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich wrote a solo part for bassoon in a tessitura high for this instrument. This was due to the fact that he wanted to give this musical fragment a great comic. When playing this number, the bassoons make sharp, screaming sounds, as if laughing at the protagonist who glued his nose.
One of the composer's friends told me that Shostakovich admitted to him that he often laughed, imagining how the musicians, performing this part, would blush with tension.
This article provided brief information on what tessitura is. Composers can use this characteristic of musical works in order to make the performance more comfortable, as well as to achieve some artistic goals.