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A passage for a small group of soloists, or the solo group in a concerto grosso.
Printed over a part, usually “Soli” or “Soli.”: in wind parts it marks a featured passage for the players named together — a pair of clarinets or oboes — rather than one soloist; over strings it can ask for a few solo players, as in Amy Beach’s “2 Viol Soli.” Tutti cancels it. In concerto grosso scores, Soli labels the concertino group.
Soli (plural of solo) indicates a passage for a small group. In orchestral parts, "soli" may mean the section leader's desk, or a specified group of players. In concerti grossi, the soli (concertino) group contrasts with the full orchestra (ripieno).
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 — the soli group of flute, violin, and harpsichord contrasts with the full string orchestra.
Soli 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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