Ossia
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Ossia (Italian: [osˈsiːa]) is a musical term for an alternative passage which may be played instead of the original passage. The word ossia comes from the Italian for "alternatively" and was originally spelled o sia, meaning "or be it".
Ossia passages are very common in opera and solo-piano works. They are usually an easier version of the preferred form of passage, but in Mily Balakirev's Islamey, for instance, the urtext has ossia passages of both types (simpler and more difficult). Bel canto vocal music also frequently uses ossia, also called oppure, passages to illustrate a more embellished version of the vocal line.
On the other hand, an ossia marking does not always indicate a change in difficulty; the piano solo music of Franz Liszt is typically full of alternative passages, often no easier or more difficult than the rest of the piece. This reflects Liszt's desire to leave his options open during a performance. Many of his ossia passages are cadenzas.
An unusual use of ossia is found in Alban Berg's Violin Concerto where several ossia parts are included for the solo violin. If the soloist chooses to play these, the concertmaster is required to play a different ossia (which takes part of the solo violin line that is lost in favor of the soloist's ossia).
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- Come Out - Collected Works - Ossia
- Drumming: Pt. I - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Pulses - Collected Works - Ossia
- New York Counterpoint: I. Fast - Collected Works - Ossia
- Tehillim, Pt. I (Fast) - Collected Works - Ossia
- The Desert Music: First Movement (Fast) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Sextet: 1st Movement - Collected Works - Ossia
- Different Trains: America—Before the war - Collected Works - Ossia
- Reich/Richter: Opening - Collected Works - Ossia
- Double Sextet: I. Fast - Collected Works - Ossia
- Piano Phase - Collected Works - Ossia
- Drumming: Pt. II - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section I - Collected Works - Ossia
- New York Counterpoint: II. Slow - Collected Works - Ossia
- Tehillim, Pt. II (Fast) - Collected Works - Ossia
- The Desert Music: Second Movement (Moderate) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Sextet: 2nd Movement - Collected Works - Ossia
- Different Trains: Europe—During the war - Collected Works - Ossia
- Three Tales, Act 1 - Hindenburg: A Very Impressive Thing to See - Collected Works - Ossia
- Double Sextet: II. Slow - Collected Works - Ossia
- Clapping Music - Collected Works - Ossia
- Drumming: Pt. III - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section II - Collected Works - Ossia
- New York Counterpoint: III. Fast - Collected Works - Ossia
- Tehillim, Pt. III (Slow) - Collected Works - Ossia
- The Desert Music: Third Movement, Pt. 1 (Slow) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Sextet: 3rd Movement - Collected Works - Ossia
- Double Sextet: III. Fast - Collected Works - Ossia
- It's Gonna Rain, Pt. I (1965) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Drumming: Pt. IV - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section IIIA - Collected Works - Ossia
- Eight Lines (Octet) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Tehillim, Pt. IV (Fast) - Collected Works - Ossia
- The Desert Music: Third Movement, Pt. 2 (Moderate) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Sextet: 4th Movement - Collected Works - Ossia
- You Are (Variations): IV. Ehmor m’aht, v’ahsay harbay (Say little and do much) - Collected Works - Ossia
- It's Gonna Rain, Pt. II (1965) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section IIIB - Collected Works - Ossia
- Four Organs - Collected Works - Ossia
- Three Movements: I. quarter note=176 - Collected Works - Ossia
- The Desert Music: Third Movement, Pt. 3 (Slow) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Sextet: 5th Movement - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section IV - Collected Works - Ossia
- Three Movements: II. quarter note=88 - Collected Works - Ossia
- The Desert Music: Fourth Movement (Moderate) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Six Marimbas - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section V - Collected Works - Ossia
- Three Movements: III. quarter note=176 - Collected Works - Ossia
- The Desert Music: Fifth Movement (Fast) - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section VI - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section VII - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section VIII - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section IX - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section X - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Section XI - Collected Works - Ossia
- Music for 18 Musicians: Pulses II - Collected Works - Ossia
- Three Tales, Act 3 - Dolly: Human Body Machine - Collected Works - Ossia
NOOD5 - 2021-10-15 00:00:00
forever - 2019-10-04 00:00:00
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