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fraseggio

Fraseggio is a term used in music to denote the manner in which a melodic line is phrased. Derived from frase (phrase) with the suffix -gio, it denotes the shaping of musical sentences through considerations of tempo, articulation, dynamics, breathing, and tempo rubato. In vocal and instrumental practice, fraseggio concerns how performers delineate phrases, group notes into musical sentences, and express musical meaning rather than merely playing the written notes.

In vocal music, fraseggio involves where to breathe, how to connect notes (legato) or articulate them (staccato),

Fraseggio is taught as part of musical phrasing analysis in pedagogy and performance criticism. It is distinct

and
how
to
shape
cadences
to
reveal
the
syntax
and
rhetorical
contour
of
the
line.
In
instrumental
music,
it
guides
the
shaping
of
melodies,
the
distribution
of
emphasis
across
notes,
and
the
pacing
of
phrases
within
the
larger
musical
structure.
It
is
closely
linked
to
interpretive
performance
and
historical
style;
different
periods
and
composers
prescribe
different
fraseggio
conventions—from
the
long-breathed
cantabile
lines
of
the
Classical
era
to
more
varied
articulations
in
other
idioms.
from,
yet
related
to,
articulation
marks,
tempo
rubato,
and
dynamics,
serving
as
a
framework
for
expressive
shaping
rather
than
a
fixed
set
of
rules.
The
concept
is
widely
used
in
Italian
music
criticism
and
pedagogy
and
has
equivalents
in
other
languages
as
musical
phrasing
or
phrase
shaping.