Fig 1: 11th-cent. manuscript, with neumatic notation (Rome: Angelica Libr, 123).

Melisma
A group of pitches sung to one syllable of text.

[Example1: plainchant, Alleluia: Nativitas: CD 594.]

A melisma is a group of pitches sung to one syllable of text in vocal music. It has the effect of extending, or embellishing, that syllable. A melisma can comprise anything from two notes to forty or more. It can thus last from a fraction of time to ten seconds or longer. Successive text syllables can each carry a melisma, which results in a continuous melisma stretching over those syllables.

Melisma serves a variety of purposes—emphatic, illustrative, expressive, and formal. At its most basic, melisma adds a lyrical dimension to the treatment of the text—it allows the music to have a life of its own, rather than serving the text slavishly.

Here first is an example from medieval plainchant. Melismas are heard on the syllables "le," "lu," and "ia":

Fig.2: plainchant Alleluia: Nativitas.

Fig.3: Alleluia: Viri Galilei (same melody) in 11th-cent. manuscript (see Fig.1).

[Example 2: plainchant Alleluia: Nativitas: CD594.]

Listen to the following passage from Britten's War Requiem (1962). It describes life in the trenches during World War I, with the sound of enemy artillery screaming overhead. The words are:

The first seven syllables have just one note each. This is called "syllabic style." Then a solo tenor voice launches into ten notes of melisma on the word "wailing":

Fig.4: Britten, War Requiem, mvt.1.

[Example 3: Britten, War Requiem, mvt. 1, CD3807.]

Fig 5: Guilia Grisi as Norma; lithograph C.Vogt (Milan: City Collection of Printing Bertarelli.

This melisma does three things simultaneously:

• it emphasizes the two syllables "wai-ling" by extending them;
• it illustrates the sound of the shells and the shape of their trajectory (i.e. it is an example of Word painting); and
• it conveys the sense of terror felt by the soldiers under fire.

The aria "Casta Diva" from Bellini's opera Norma (1831) demonstrates that melisma is not always restricted to a single word; it is often applied to phrases, sentences, and entire texts. When a melody makes frequent use of melismas, as this one does, the adjective melismatic is used to describe it:

[Example 4: Bellini: Norma, Act I, "Casta Diva": CD1140.]

Far from being restricted to classical music, melisma is also found widely in many kinds of popular music. In the following excerpt from "Ray of Light," a song by Madonna, the line "Quicker than a ray of light" is sung twice in syllabic style. The third repetition also begins syllabically, but ends in a nine-note melisma on the word "light":

Fig.6: Madonna: "Ray of Light".

[Example 5: Madonna, "Ray of Light."]

Melisma is not just a Western phenomenon; it is heard in most cultures around the world. Here is an example from Beijing opera:

[Fig.7: Beijing Opera.]

[Example 6: Beijing Opera: Sun Wukong [The Monkey King], scene 1.]

Summary:

• A melisma is a group of notes sung to one syllable of text.
• A melisma has the effect of extending, or embellishing, that syllable.
• A melody with frequent melismas is called melismatic.
• Melisma is common in a wide variety of Western and non-Western vocal music.

Copyright © Columbia University, Visual & Sound Materials from the Gabe M. Wiener Music & Arts Library of Columbia University
Melisma written by: Michael Von der Linn Recording & Mixing: Christopher Bailey	Narration: Annalisa Poirel Technology & Design: Maurice Matiz