Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
Risso’s dolphin
rissole
risus sardonicus
rit.
ritardando
rite
rite of passage
ritenuto
ritornello
ritual
ritual abuse
ritual murder
ritualisation
ritualism
ritualistic
ritualization
ritualize
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "ritornel..." in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

ritornello

ri·tor·nel·lo [ r tawr néllō ] (plural ri·tor·nel·los or ri·tor·nel·li [ r tawr néllee ])


noun 
Definition:
 
1. musical refrain: a short musical passage used as an orchestral refrain between verses of a song or aria

2. return of orchestral music after solo: in a concerto grosso, the return of full orchestral music after a solo

[Late 17th century. < Italian, "little return"]
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft