AriosoArioso is Italian for 'like an aria', i.e. less formal than the aria but more lyrical than the recitative. However the term has been applied in several ways when we study music history. 1. Arioso is a lyrical, more expressing alternative for the recitativo secco with its declamatory style, as a transition between two musical styles. Examples: Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea before the seventh scene: 'Che vo'accenderti il foco'. The bass recitative from Bach's BWV 80: 'Erwaege doch Kind Gottes' (see below). 2. Arioso can also mean a short vocal solo, e.g. in Bach's St. John Passion ('Betrachte meine Seele') and in Mendelssohn's Elija ('Ja, es sollen wohl Berge weichen'). The independent form is popular in German church music around 1700 (Buxtehude cantatas). 3. In instrumental music arioso refers to a style than resembles the vocal arioso style. Example: in Beethoven's Sonata in Ab major the melody is marked arioso dolente to dinstinguish it from the preceding recitativo. 
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