Cantilena

Cantilena is Italian for ‘little song’ — a smooth, lyrical, flowing melodic line, especially in slow movements or vocal works. The term emphasizes the singing, songlike quality of the music: cantilena passages should feel as if they were natural vocal melodies, even when played on instruments.

The character is lyrical and continuous. Cantilena passages typically feature long phrases, smooth contour, careful breath-like phrasing, and warm tone. The marking is closely related to cantabile (singable) — both indicate that the music should sound like song.

The term is found throughout the operatic and instrumental repertoire. Bellini’s vocal lines are famously cantilena; Brahms’s slow movements often feature cantilena melodies; Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 opens with one of the most famous cantilenas in 20th-century music.

Italian, ‘little song’, from Latin cantilena (‘song, ballad’), from cantilare (‘to sing repeatedly’).

Sing the line. Long, breathing phrases; warm tone; legato connection. The instrumental line should sound like a vocal melody.