Dictionary

character piece en · NOUN

Etymology

Calque of German Charakterstück.

Meanings

1. A musical composition that expresses a specific mood or non-musical idea.
   • That does not mean that all character pieces of this period present moods expressly, only that the musical term 'character' is not always telling for character pieces, to put it crudely. 2016, Erik Wallrup, Being Musically Attuned: The Act of Listening to Music, page 36:
2. A work of art (painting, sculpture, writing, film, etc.) that has as its subject matter the description or depiction of an individual person or character.
   • Wilde was impressed by Beerbohm's critical, yet laudatory character piece on him in the Anglo-American Times of March 25, 1893, entitled 'OW by [Max Beerbohm masquerading as] an American'. 2007, A. Kingston, Oscar Wilde as a Character in Victorian Fiction, page 115:
   • In spite of it being a character piece, I really loved how the rocks and dirt were brought to life. 2005, Stephen Stahlberg, Pascal Blanche, Daniel Wade, Character Modeling, page 60:
   • The "Leah Dawson 'Slow Down'" video is a magical character piece. 2014, Bradford Schmidt, Brandon Thompson, GoPro: Professional Guide to Filmmaking, page 238:

Forms

Relateds

program music