trio
trio (It.). Three.
1. Any body of 3 performers together, or piece of mus. written for them to perform, e.g. string trio, usually vn., va., vc., piano trio, usually pf., vn., vc. The comp. called a trio is usually in sonata form and in 3 movts.
2. The central section of a minuet, scherzo, or march, usually in gentler contrast to the first section and its repeat. So called because formerly it was written in 3-part harmony, as for a trio.
3. A vocal trio may be acc. or unacc. In the 16th cent. the minor-key sections of the mass were often written for 3 vv.; there were also 3-part canzonets. In opera, the simultaneous combination of 3 vv. is a trio, a famous example being that for 3 sop. in Act 3 of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, but there are of course many examples of trios for 3 different types of v.
4. For the org. a trio is intended for manuals and the pedals, each in a different registration for contrast (and, of course, played by one performer).
1. Any body of 3 performers together, or piece of mus. written for them to perform, e.g. string trio, usually vn., va., vc., piano trio, usually pf., vn., vc. The comp. called a trio is usually in sonata form and in 3 movts.
2. The central section of a minuet, scherzo, or march, usually in gentler contrast to the first section and its repeat. So called because formerly it was written in 3-part harmony, as for a trio.
3. A vocal trio may be acc. or unacc. In the 16th cent. the minor-key sections of the mass were often written for 3 vv.; there were also 3-part canzonets. In opera, the simultaneous combination of 3 vv. is a trio, a famous example being that for 3 sop. in Act 3 of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, but there are of course many examples of trios for 3 different types of v.
4. For the org. a trio is intended for manuals and the pedals, each in a different registration for contrast (and, of course, played by one performer).
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trio