Coloratura—florid passages in singing. Also applied to the style of singing employed in rendering such passages. (See [p. 76], [Sec. 171].)
Consonance—A combination of tones agreeable to the ear and requiring no resolution to other tone-combinations in order to give the effect of finality. The major triad C—E—G is an example of a consonant chord.
Contralto—same as alto.
Con variazioni—with variations.
Direct—a sign (
) placed at the end of the last staff on a page, to indicate what the first note on the next page is going to be. This sign is now practically obsolete.
Dirge—a funeral chant. The dirge is named from the first word of a chant used in the "office for the dead," which begins—Dirige Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam (Direct, O Lord, My God, my way in Thy sight).
Discord—an ugly, unharmonious combination of tones.
Dissonance—a harmonic combination of tones giving rise to the feeling of incompleteness or unrest, and therefore requiring resolution to some other combination which has an agreeable or final feeling. (cf. consonance.) The diminished triad C—E♭—G♭ is an example of a dissonant chord.