obbligato

1 of 2

adjective

ob·​bli·​ga·​to ˌä-blə-ˈgä-(ˌ)tō 

: not to be omitted : obligatory

—used as a direction in music compare ad libitum

obbligato

2 of 2

noun

plural obbligatos also obbligati ˌä-blə-ˈgä-tē 

1

: an elaborate especially melodic part accompanying a solo or principal melody and usually played by a single instrument

a song with violin obbligato

2

: accompaniment sense 2b

especially : an attendant background sound

Synonyms

Noun

• accompaniment
• attendant
• companion
• concomitant
• corollary
• incident

Examples of obbligato in a Sentence

Noun

with the babble of the brook as an obbligato, we enjoyed our picnic

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The other was the whole first section of the fast movement, a solo in F major with obbligato flute, in which Florestan recalls happier days with Leonore at his side. —Will Crutchfield, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2020

Noun

There is a lovely horn obbligato to Sifare’s Act 3 aria which would be challenging to play on a modern instrument. —Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 July 2023

As an obbligato of protest continued behind Wilson, Dylan, accepting Wilson’s advice, sang the insert. —Mick Stevens, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2021

The long orchestral introduction left no doubt as to where composer Stephenson’s interests lay, the work’s first two movements amounting to symphonic statements with bass trombone obbligato. —Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 14 June 2019

The aria is enhanced by trumpet and oboe obbligatos, which were handled deftly by trumpeter Steve Marquardt and oboist Debra Nagy. —Special To The Plain Dealer, cleveland.com, 16 Oct. 2017

The orchestra's alert accompaniment was at one with the pianist's purposes, as was Stefan Ragnar Hoskuldsson's dulcet flute obbligato in the opening movement. —John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, 9 June 2017

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Italian, "obligatory, essential to a musical composition," from past participle of obbligare "to require (someone to do something), oblige," going back to Latin obligāre — more at oblige

Noun

derivative of obbligato entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1740, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

obbligato

1 of 2 adjective

ob·​bli·​ga·​to ˌäb-lə-ˈgät-ō 

: not to be left out

—used as a direction in music

obbligato

2 of 2 noun

plural obbligatos also obbligati

-ē

: an important melodic part usually played by a single instrument to accompany another instrument or a singer

a violin obbligato