Bagatelle (music)

A bagatelle is a short piece of music, typically for the piano, and usually of a light, mellow character. The name bagatelle literally means "a short unpretentious instrumental composition" as a reference to the light style of a piece.[1][2] Although bagatelles are generally written for solo piano, they have also been written for piano four hands, harpsichord, harp, organ, classical guitar, vibraphone, unaccompanied oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, various chamber-music configurations, orchestra, band, voice and piano, and a cappella choir.

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2001.
  2. ^ Kennedy, Michael, and Kennedy, Joyce, 2007, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music, fifth edition