A’ria (It.; Ger. A’rie.)

Primarily, an air, or rhythmic melody,—Asa technical term, an aria is an extended lyrical vocal solo in various forms, with instrumental accompaniment. With the rise of homophonic music in the opera and oratorio, the aria developed, from a mere plain-song melody with das so continuo, into the aria gran’de (the grand or da-capo aria in 3 divisions preceded by an instrumental ritornello containing the principal melody; division I being an elaborate development of a theme with frequent repetitions of the words; II, a more tranquil and richly harmonized section; followed td III, the repetition de capo of I, wit still more forid ornamentation); the aria di bravu’ra, (similar to the foregoing, but overloaded with difficult pa ages and coloraturas for showing Off the singer's skill); the ariada chie’sa (church-aria, differing from the sacred song chiefly in its greater breadth, and in being accompanied by full ofchestra); and the aria da concer’to (concert-aria, differing from the others, which are portions of ‘operas, oratorios etc., in being an independent composition intended for the concert-hall).— The modern aria is freer in form than the aria grande of the 18th century, the ritornello often being omitted, greater variety given to the da capo, and the thematic construction made to follow the sense of the words, so that it sometimes a umes the form of a rondo, or consists of 2 slow divisions separated by an allegro movement...Aria parZan’ te (also ario’so), a vocal style combining the melody ‘of an aria with the distinct enunciation of a recitative, the vowels being ‘‘ thrown forward.” —Smaller arias, nearly in song-form and with slighter accompaniments, are called ariettas or cavatinas,