octatonic scale (or octatonic collection) A SCALE that alternates WHOLE and HALF STEPS.
Offertory Item in the MASS PROPER, sung while the COMMUNION is prepared, comprising a RESPOND without VERSES.
Office (from Latin officium, "obligation" or "ceremony") A series of eight prayer services of the Roman church, celebrated daily at specified times, especially in monasteries and convents; also, any one of those services.
Old Roman chant A repertory of ecclesiastical CHANT preserved in eleventh- and twelfth-century manuscripts from Rome representing a local tradition; a near relative of GREGORIAN CHANT.
open and closed endings (French, ouvert and clos) In an ESTAMPIE, BALLADE, or other medieval form, two different endings for a repeated section. The first ("open") closes on a pitch other than the FINAL, and the second ("closed") ends with a full CADENCE on the final.
opera (Italian, "work") Drama with continuous or nearly continuous music, staged with scenery, costumes, and action.
opera buffa (Italian, "comic opera") Eighteenth-century GENRE of Italian comic OPERA, sung throughout.
opéra bouffe ROMANTIC operatic GENRE in France that emphasized the smart, witty, and satirical elements of OPéRA COMIQUE.
opéra comique (French, "comic opera") (1) In the eighteenth century, light French comic OPERA, which used spoken dialogue instead of RECITATIVES. (2) In nineteenth-century France, opera with spoken dialogue, whether comic or tragic.
opera seria (Italian, "serious opera") Eighteenth-century GENRE of Italian OPERA, on a serious subject but normally with a happy ending, usually without comic characters and scenes.
operetta Nineteenth-century kind of light OPERA with spoken dialogue, originating in OPéRA BOUFFE.
opus (Latin, "work") Work or collection of works in the same GENRE, issued as a publication.
oratorio GENRE of dramatic music that originated in the seventeenth century, combining narrative, dialogue, and commentary through ARIAS, RECITATIVES, ENSEMBLES, CHORUSES, and instrumental music, like an unstaged OPERA. Usually on a religious or biblical subject.
orchestra ENSEMBLE whose core consists of strings with more than one player on a part, usually joined by woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments.
orchestral concerto Orchestral GENRE in several MOVEMENTS, originating in the late seventeenth century, that emphasized the first VIOLIN part and the BASS, avoiding the more CONTRAPUNTAL TEXTURE of the SONATA.
orchestral suite Late-seventeenth-century German SUITE for ORCHESTRA patterned after the groups of DANCES in French BALLETS and OPERA.
Ordinary (from Latin ordinarium, "usual") Texts of the MASS that remain the same on most or all days of the CHURCH CALENDAR, although the tunes may change.
organ mass Setting for organ of all sections of the MASS for which the organ would play, including ORGAN VERSES and other pieces.
organ verse Setting for organ of an existing MELODY from the Roman Catholic LITURGY.
organal voice (Latin, vox organalis) In an ORGANUM, the voice that is added above or below the original CHANT MELODY.
organum (Latin; pronounced OR-guh-num) (1) One of several styles of early POLYPHONY from the ninth through thirteenth centuries, involving the addition of one or more voices to an existing CHANT. (2) A piece, whether IMPROVISED or written, in one of those styles, in which one voice is drawn from a CHANT. The plural is organa.
organum duplum In NOTRE DAME POLYPHONY, an ORGANUM in two voices.
ornament A brief, conventional formula, such as a TRILL or turn, written or IMPROVISED, that adds expression or charm to a MELODIC line.
ornamentation The addition of embellishments to a given MELODY, either during performance or as part of the act of COMPOSITION.
ostinato (Italian, "obstinate") Short musical pattern that is repeated persistently throughout a piece or section. See BASSO OSTINATO.
ouvert See OPEN AND CLOSED ENDINGS.
ouverture (French, "opening") (1) OVERTURE, especially FRENCH OVERTURE. (2) SUITE for ORCHESTRA, beginning with an OVERTURE.
overdotting Performing practice in French BAROQUE music in which a dotted NOTE is held longer than written, while the following short note is shortened.
overture (1) An ORCHESTRAL piece introducing an OPERA or other long work. (2) Independent ORCHESTRAL work in one MOVEMENT, usually descriptive.
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