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Multiple performers playing slightly different versions of the same melody simultaneously — varying in ornamentation, rhythm, or phrasing.
Heterophony is rare in Western classical music but common in folk and non-Western traditions. Debussy and Britten use it for exotic color. The slightly-out-of-sync quality creates a shimmering, organic texture.
Britten's "Curlew River" — the heterophonic texture of the instrumental ensemble imitates Japanese gagaku music.
Heterophony is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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