Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

rondo

 
(rŏn'dō, rŏn-dō') pronunciation
n., pl., -dos.
A musical composition built on the alternation of a principal recurring theme and contrasting episodes.

[Italian rondò, from French rondeau, rondeau. See rondeau.]


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

a term in music, has the plural form rondos.

Previous:romance, role, roguish
Next:roof, room, roomful

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, where a refrain of 8 or 16 measures is played in alternation with a succession of couplets (episodes) so as to form a chainlike structure of variable length. 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 the early 19th centuries, frequently providing the form for the final movements of sonatas, quartets, symphonies, and concertos.

For more information on rondo, visit Britannica.com.

rondo (rŏn'dō, rŏndō'), instrumental musical form in which the opening section is repeated after each succeeding section containing contrasting thematic material. The complex rondeau of French keyboard music of the 17th cent., related to the poetic form, the rondel, was the most frequently occurring form. It was the predecessor of the 18th-century rondo, which became the usual concluding movement of the classical sonata.


Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'rondo'

Top
Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to rondo, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Rondo.

Rondo and its French part-equivalent rondeau are words that have been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form. Although now called rondo form, the form started off in the Baroque period as the ritornello, from the Italian word ritornare meaning "to return" – indicating the return to the original theme or motif ("A"). The typical Baroque ritornello pattern is ABACABA. Although there are a few differences, some people use the two terms, rondo and ritornello, interchangeably.

In rondo form, a principal theme (sometimes called the "refrain") alternates with one or more contrasting themes, generally called "episodes," but also occasionally referred to as "digressions" or "couplets." Possible patterns in the Classical period include: ABA, ABACA, or ABACABA. The number of themes can vary from piece to piece, and the recurring element is sometimes embellished and/or shortened in order to provide for variation.

The Baroque predecessor to the rondo was the ritornello. Ritornello form was used in the fast movements of baroque concertos. The entire orchestra (in Italian, tutti) plays the main ritornello theme, while soloists play the intervening episodes. While Rondo form is similar to ritornello form, it is different in that ritornello brings back the subject or main theme in fragments and in different keys, but the rondo brings back its theme complete and in the same key.

A common expansion of rondo form is to combine it with sonata form, to create the sonata rondo form. Here, the second theme acts in a similar way to the second theme group in sonata form by appearing first in a key other than the tonic and later being repeated in the tonic key. Unlike sonata form, thematic development does not need to occur except possibly in the coda.

Rondo as a character-type (as distinct from the form) refers to music that is fast and vivacious – normally Allegro. Many classical rondos feature music of a popular or folk character. They include Mozart's Rondo in A minor k511. Music that has been designated as "rondo" normally subscribes to both the form and character. On the other hand, there are many examples of slow and reflective works that are rondo in form but not in character.

A little-known vocal genre of the late eighteenth-century referred to at that time as the "rondò" is cast in two parts, slow-fast.

See also

External links


Translations:

Rondo

Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - rondo

Nederlands (Dutch)
rondo

Français (French)
n. - rondo

Deutsch (German)
n. - Rondo

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μουσ.) ρόντο

Italiano (Italian)
rondò

Português (Portuguese)
n. - rondó (m) (Mús.)

Русский (Russian)
рондо

Español (Spanish)
n. - rondó

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (mus) rondo

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
回旋曲, 轮旋曲

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 回旋曲, 輪旋曲

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 론도, 회선곡

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ロンド, 回旋曲

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مقطوعه موسيقيه يتكرر فيها النغم الرئيسي بين حين وآخر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮רונדו (מוסיקה), צורה מוסיקלית של חזרה על נושא בסיום סונטה או קונצרטו‬


 
 
Related topics:
Sonata-rondo (music)
Episode (music)
Invitation to the Dance (music)

Related answers:
What rhymes with Rondo? Read answer...
Who is rondos girlfriend? Read answer...
Who is rajonn rondo? Read answer...

Help us answer these:
Is rondo haitition?
What does rondo like to do?
What is rondo\'s number?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Fowler's Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press. © 1999, 2004 All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved.  Read more
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Rondo Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

Follow us
Facebook Twitter
YouTube