legato
adverb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L193885 on Wikidata ↗adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L338097 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ləˈɡɑ.təʊ/ / /ləˈɡɑ.toʊ/
adv
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian legato, past participle of legare (“to tie up, tie together, to bind”), learned borrowing from Latin ligō (“tie, bind”). Doublet of ligate.
- Smoothly, in a connected manner.
“Play this passage legato, not portato.”
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian legato, past participle of legare (“to tie up, tie together, to bind”), learned borrowing from Latin ligō (“tie, bind”). Doublet of ligate.
- A style of performance characterized by smoothly connected notes.
“It is the coördination of the finger and hand as examplified in the proportionate speed of shifting according to the speed of the musical passage, which makes for evenness, continuity, smoothness, and ultimately, a fine legato.”
“At the end of the prelude of Caprice V, there is a chromatic ascending and descending scale of forty-eight notes to be played in one bow in legato.”
- A passage that is played legato.
“It schools the mind to watch for the legato all the time, as its absence at the organ is mor prominent than at the piano; but beyond this point it renders little assitance to the pianist.”
“A good pianist, however, will make his audience believe that he is as capable of performing a legato as is a singer or violinist.”