CANTO (from the

See also:

• LAT

Lat. cantus, a

See also:

• SONG

song)  , one of the divisions of a long poem, a convenient division when poetry was more usually sung by the minstrel to his own accompaniment than read . In music, the canto, iii a concerted piece, is that part to which theair is given . In modern music this is nearly always the soprano . The old masters, however, more frequently allotted it to the tenor . Canto fermo, or cantus Jirmus, is that part of the melody which remains true to the original motive, while the other parts vary with the counterpoint; also in Church music the simple straight-forward melody of the old chants as opposed to canto figurato, which is full of embellishments of a florid character (see PLAIN SONG) .