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A style of vocal writing that follows the natural rhythms of speech rather than strict musical meter. Used in opera and oratorio for dialogue and narrative.
Usually printed in Italian — “Recitativo”, “Recit.”, “Recitativo accompagnato” — at the head of the passage, with the voice in plain speech rhythms over sparse chords; an aria or arioso follows, often with a new tempo word. Instrumental music borrows it for speaking melodies: Beethoven prints “Selon le caractère d’un recitative, mais in tempo” over the cellos and basses in the Ninth’s finale.
Recitative advances the plot between arias. Secco recitative has sparse accompaniment (continuo only); accompagnato recitative has orchestral support for dramatic moments. When writing recitative, follow the natural stress of the text — irregular rhythms, repeated notes, speech-like inflection.
Mozart's "Don Giovanni" — the recitative scenes between arias carry the dramatic action, shifting between secco and accompagnato for the most intense moments.
Recitative is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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