Even when it isn't sung, the Italian language sounds like music, which is part of why Italian words are used to tell musicians how to play—presto, lento, adagio, forte.
Miles Hoffman, author of The NPR Classical Music Companion, recently joined Renee Montagne to discuss the Italian jargon of classical music.
"So many of these musical forms—sonata, cantata, aria—started in Italy," Hoffman says.
"Plus, Italian musicians were in positions of prestige all over Europe, so it became the lingua franca."
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