Adjacent Words

rondo definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a musical form that is often the last movement of a sonata [syn: rondo, rondeau]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural rondos) Etymology: Italian ronḍ, from Middle French rondeau Date: 1797 1. an instrumental composition typically with a refrain recurring four times in the tonic and with three couplets in contrasting keys 2. the musical form of a rondo used especially for a movement in a concerto or sonata

Britannica Concise

Musical form characterized by the initial statement and periodic restatement of a melody alternately with contrasting material. It originated in the French baroque harpsichord rondeau, which was later influenced by vocal rondo forms in Italian opera buffa. Most rondos fall into either a five part (abaca) or a seven-part (abacaba) form. The rondo was very popular in the late 18th and 19th cent., providing the form particularly for romping final movements of sonatas, quartets, symphonies, and concertos.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -os) Mus. a form with a recurring leading theme, often found in the final movement of a sonata or concerto etc. Etymology: It. f. F rondeau: see RONDEAU

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rondo Ron"do, n. [It. rond[`o], fr. F. rondeau. See Rondeau.] 1. (Mus.) A composition, vocal or instrumental, commonly of a lively, cheerful character, in which the first strain recurs after each of the other strains. ``The Rondo-form was the earliest and most frequent definite mold for musical construction.'' --Grove. 2. (Poetry) See Rondeau, 1.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rondeau Ron*deau", n. [F. See Roundel.] [Written also rondo.] 1. A species of lyric poetry so composed as to contain a refrain or repetition which recurs according to a fixed law, and a limited number of rhymes recurring also by rule. Note: When the rondeau was called the rondel it was mostly written in fourteen octosyllabic lines of two rhymes, as in the rondels of Charles d'Orleans. . . . In the 17th century the approved form of the rondeau was a structure of thirteen verses with a refrain. --Encyc. Brit. 2. (Mus.) See Rondo, 1.