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Definition: aria from The Macquarie Dictionary
1.

an air or melody.

Plural: arias

2.

an elaborate melody for a single voice, with accompaniment, in an opera, oratorio, etc., especially one consisting of a principal and a subordinate section, and a repetition of the first with or without alterations.

Plural: arias

Etymology: Italian, from Latin \xc4\x81\xc4\x93r air

aria

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(är'ēӘ), elaborate and often lengthy solo song with instrumental accompaniment. In the 16th cent. it was a melody improvised over a strophic bass line, and a distinction was made between instrumental, vocal, and dance arias. the use of the term to indicate instrumental music was continued by such composers as Froberger, Pachelbel, and J. S. Bach. The first use of the term to indicate solo song was by Giulio Caccini in 1602. Later in the 17th cent. Italian opera composers developed the aria da capo , a throughcomposed (nonstrophic) three-part structure in which the beginning section is repeated after a contrasting middle section. Though this formal scheme was first used by Monteverdi, he did not designate it aria da capo. This type achieved artistic perfection in the operas of Alessandro Scarlatti and Handel and in the works of J. S. Bach. In the 18th cent. the three main sections were divided into subsections, and there were classifications of many various types of arias. The extreme…
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Full text Article Aria [It.]

From The Harvard Dictionary of Music
A self-contained composition for solo voice, usually with instrumental accompaniment and occurring within the context of a larger form such as opera, oratorio, or cantata. The term first appeared at the end of the 14th century signifying a manner or style of singing or playing. This meaning…
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Full text Article aria

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Solo song with instrumental accompaniment in opera , cantata , or oratorio . The strophic or stanzaic aria, in which each new stanza might represent a melodic variation on the first, appeared in opera in Claudio Monteverdi ’s Orfeo (1607) and was widely used for decades. The standard aria form c. …
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Full text Article aria

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(är'ēӘ), elaborate and often lengthy solo song with instrumental accompaniment. In the 16th cent. it was a melody improvised over a strophic bass line, and a distinction was made between instrumental, vocal, and dance arias. the use of the term to indicate instrumental music was continued by such…
| 320 words
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Full text Article aria

From The New Penguin Dictionary of Music
Solo vocal piece, normally in an opera, though the term can also be used for opera-style pieces that exist in cantatas or oratorios, or independently (as in the CONCERT ARIA ). The aria is the occasion for a principal character to assess circumstances, make an explanation to another character or, …
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Full text Article aria

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Melodic solo song of reflective character, often with a contrasting middle section. It is used to express a moment of importance in the action of an opera or oratorio. Already to be found in Jacopo Peri's Euridice (1600) and Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607), it reached its more elaborate form in…
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Full text Article Arias Sánchez, Oscar

From Latin American History and Culture: Encyclopedia of Modern Latin America (1900 to the Present)
(b. 1941–) president of Costa Rica Born in Heredia, Costa Rica, into a family with a long history of success in coffee planting and political participation, Oscar Arias Sánchez earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Costa Rica in 1966 and his doctorate in 1974 from Great Britain's…
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Full text Article Arias Madrid, Arnulfo

From Latin American History and Culture: Encyclopedia of Modern Latin America (1900 to the Present)
(b. 1901–d. 1988) president of Panama Born into a lower-middle-class rural family, Arnulfo Arias Madrid (b. 1901–d. 1988) became one of Panama 's most controversial political leaders. He served as Panama's president for three brief periods, from 1940 to 1941, 1949 to 1951, and for several days in…
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Full text Article Arias Sánchez, Óscar

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born Sept. 13, 1941, Heredia, C.Rica) President of Costa Rica (1986–90, 2006–10). Born to wealth, Arias became a moderate socialist and worked for the National Liberation Party from the 1960s. He first became president at a time when much of Central America was torn by civil war. His 1987 Central…
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Full text Article SÁNCHEZ, ARIAS OSCAR

From Encyclopedia of Nobel Laureates 1901-2017 Full text Article PEACE
SÁNCHEZ, ARIAS OSCAR
Nationality: Costa Rican b. 13 September 1941, Heredia, Costa Rica; For authoring a plan to end civil wars in Central America Arias was the elder son of a wealthy coffee-growing family and grew up in the provincial city of Heredia. After graduating from a Roman Catholic-run high school he spent…
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Full text Article Arias Sanchez, Oscar

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Costa Rican centre-left politician, president 1986–90 and 2006–10, and secretary general of the left-wing National Liberation Party (PLN) from 1979. Standing as the PLN's candidate, he was elected president in 1986 and embarked on a successful market-centred economic programme, which promoted…
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