lauda (from Latin laudare, "to praise") Italian devotional song.
Leitmotiv, leitmotive (German, "leading motive") In an OPERA or MUSIC DRAMA, a MOTIVE, THEME, or musical idea associated with a person, thing, mood, or idea, which returns in original or altered form throughout.
Lesser Doxology See DOXOLOGY.
libretto (Italian, "little book") Literary text for an OPERA or other musical stage work.
Lied (German, "song"; pl. Lieder) Song with German words, whether MONOPHONIC, POLYPHONIC, or for voice with accompaniment; used especially for polyphonic songs in the RENAISSANCE and songs for voice and PIANO in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
ligature NEUME-like noteshape used to indicate a short RHYTHMIC pattern in twelfth- to sixteenth-century NOTATION.
liturgical drama Dialogue on a sacred subject, set to music and usually performed with action, and linked to the LITURGY.
liturgy The prescribed body of texts to be spoken or sung and ritual actions to be performed in a religious service.
long In medieval and RENAISSANCE systems of RHYTHMIC NOTATION, a NOTE equal to two or three BREVES.
lute Plucked string instrument popular from the late Middle Ages through the BAROQUE PERIOD, typically pear- or almond-shaped with a rounded back, flat fingerboard, frets, and one single and five double strings.
lute song English GENRE of solo song with LUTE accompaniment.
lyre Plucked string instrument with a resonating soundbox, two arms, crossbar, and strings that run parallel to the soundboard and attach to the crossbar.
lyric opera ROMANTIC OPERA that lies somewhere between light OPéRA COMIQUE and GRAND OPERA.
W. W. Norton & Company | Credits | Site Feedback | Technical Support | Print This Page