spiritosoadv.adj.n.
/ˌspɪrᵻˈtəʊsəʊ/, /ˌspɪrᵻˈtəʊzəʊ/, U.S. /ˌspɪrəˈtoʊsoʊ/, /ˌspɪrəˈtoʊzoʊ/ Music.
A. adv.
As a musical direction: in a lively or spirited manner.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > directions > [adverb] > for other expression
grave1683
cantabile1724
maestoso1724
staccato1724
legato1740
soavemente1740
tenuto1762
amoroso?1765
spiritoso1767
pomposo1786
scherzando1786
strepitoso1801
grazioso1806
mesto1806
risoluto1817
tripsomely1819
alla marcia1823
energico1824
flautando1825
giocoso1828
grandioso1829
religioso1829
largamente1837
marcato1840
flautato1842
leggiero1851
tranquillo1854
appassionato1857
lamentoso1876
misterioso1876
parlando1876
pesante1876
scherzandissimo1876
affettuoso1879
arioso1879
quasi parlato1908
martellato1928
agitato1944
soave1959
1767 D. Garrick Peep behind Curtain ii. ii. 30 Musician. I don't quite understand this movement—is it allegro, Sir? Author. Allegro, spiritoso!—Flash, flash, fire!
1935 Music & Lett. 16 304 We may wonder how many organists would feel inclined to play spiritoso after having to improvise a fugue.
2000 Washington Post 12 May c8/3 Only the last movement, marked Spiritoso, wanted a faster tempo.
B. adj.
Of music or its performance: lively, spirited, energetic.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > [adjective] > passage executed in specific way
alla breve1782
grandioso1787
larghetto1815
spiritoso1824
pomposoa1845
appassionato1869
animato1874
bravuraish1879
alla marcia1880
tutti1884
largamente1893
precipitato1965
1824 La Belle Assemblée June 269/1 Mr Rawlings' Divertimento consists of an introduction, a spiritoso movement, an andantino grazioso movement.
1876 Isle of Man Times 3 June 5/4 It opens with a short spiritoso introduction.
1970 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press 22 June 4/2 As the spiritoso mood returned after the dip into the andante, the lilt and lift were noticeable.
2006 Notes (Music Libr. Assoc.) 63 436/1 ‘Spiritoso’ melismas portray Cupid's flight.
C. n.
A musical movement, passage, or piece marked to be performed in a lively or spirited manner.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > [noun] > passage executed in specific way
concerto grosso1724
legatoa1757
ad libitum1759
larghetto1760
moderato1762
bravura1787
pomposo1807
tutti1816
spiritoso1829
alla capella1859
alla marcia1860
passage work1865
retrogression1869
largamente1878
religioso1888
grandioso1914
animato1924
pesante1932
precipitato1955
1829 Athenæum 18 Mar. 168/2 It is arranged quite in a familiar style.., and comprises the following variety of airs: Introduzione in Bb 2-4, ‘Prendero quel Brunettino’; ‘Bella vita Militar’, as a Spiritoso in F; [etc.].
1892 Musical Times Mar. 140/2 The ‘Cantana’ ends with a Spiritoso.
1963 Musical Q. 49 47 Jommelli's first movement is a Spiritoso.
2012 Notes (Music Libr. Assoc.) 68 548 Graziana..seems to have decided to ‘tone down’ the technical requirements in the last movement, a Spiritoso in A major.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.adj.n.1767