marcati

Marcati is the plural form of the Italian adjective marcato, meaning marked or emphasized. In musical notation, marcato marks indicate that the notes or passages to which they apply should be played with a strong, emphatic attack.

The term marcati may appear in scores as an instruction for a group of notes, i.e., note marcate or simply marcati to describe a section where the articulation is to be strongly accented. It is commonly realized through a clear, pointed attack and a degree of separation from surrounding notes, with the exact execution depending on tempo, style, and instrument. The aim is to emphasize each note or note pair rather than produce a smooth, connected line.

Linguistically, marcati is an Italian plural form and not a proper noun. It appears mainly in the context of music notation, often alongside other articulation marks such as marcato, staccato, and legato. In English-language scores, it is encountered primarily in editions or analyses that preserve Italian musical terminology.