Why are so many classical music terms derived from Italian?
Great question!! Italian is the universal language of music because in the early days when all of this was being developed, Italy was a center for enlightenment and the arts. People yearned to study at Italian universities because they were considered the best in the world. Several academies were formed in Italy where people would gather to discuss, play, and learn about music. Because of this, many of the terms we now hold dear were actually invented by the Italians to describe the different aspects of music. Forte = strong (loud) Piano = soft Doloroso = with pain, painfully Allegro = happily (fast) Grandioso = grandly Maestoso = majestically These terms are all pulled straight from the Italian language and were applied almost literally to music.
In the Renaissance and Baroque periods, Italy was viewed the music country par excellence. Many of the most popular musical forms were created in Italy: opera, oratorio, the sonata, the concerto, etc. In this way, Italian became accepted as the international language of music, much as English is the international language of computers today.
