Ossia

Ossia example (2nd bar).  Play original (help·info)  Play ossia (help·info)

Ossia is a musical term for an alternative passage which may be played instead of the original passage. The word ossia comes from the Italian for "alternatively" and was originally spelled o sia, meaning "or be it" (Fallows 774). Ossias are very common in opera and solo piano works. In practice, ossia passages usually are an easier version of the preferred form of passage, but in Mily Balakirev's Islamey: an Oriental Fantasy, for instance, the urtext has ossia passages of both types (simpler and more difficult). Bel canto vocal music also frequently uses ossias to illustrate a more embellished version of the vocal line (Fallows 774). On the other hand, an Ossia marking does not always indicate a change in difficulty; the piano solo music of Franz Liszt is typically full of alternative passages, often no easier or more difficult than the rest of the piece. This reflects Liszt's desire to leave his options open during a performance. Many of his Ossia passages are cadenzas.

An unusual use of ossia is found in the Berg Violin Concerto where several ossia parts are included for the solo violin. If the soloist chooses to play these ossias, the concert master is required to play different ossias (which take part of the solo violin line that is lost in favor of the soloist's ossias).

References

• Fallows, David. "Ossia", Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001