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My copy of Rach E-t 39/6 lists an ossai, written above the music. What am I supposed to do with this? I googled ossai and couldn't find anything about it. I have never encountered this term before.
Can anyone help?

my Oxford dictionary of Music lists 'ossia'

it says.. this expression is attached to passages added by the composer (or editor) as alternative to the original.. sometimes on grounds of greater facility

and from wikipedia

I thought it was an ancient species of bird-like dinasaurs that roamed the earth during the late Triassic period around 65 mybp.



Nice link, Apple.

John

Your score misspells the term in question, which is why you can't find "Ossai" anywhere by Googling. My score for the same piece shows the term as "ossia", which is derived from the Italian for "alternatively" or "also". It's used by composers who want to include alternative versions of the same portion of a piece. Sometimes, the versions so labeled are considered to be "easy" and "harder".

Rachmaninoff used this device more than most composers. His most famous "ossia" is in the 1st movement cadenza to his 3rd piano concerto. The delicate, filigreed version played by Rachmaninoff himself, Horowitz and Janis is written into the text of the score; the massive, chordal "ossia" made famous by Cliburn and played by Andsnes and Volodos is written in tiny script above the stave of the main text, just like the "ossia" in your ET. In the case of the 3rd concerto cadenza, it's not a case of "easy" and "harder" but "incredibly difficult" and "impossibly difficult".

Hope that helps.

An ossia is an alternate passage. Sometimes they're easier (Balakirev Islamey) and sometimes they're more difficult (Liszt William Tell Overture, very very end of third movement of Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto).

Yes -- I don't know the piece and I thought it might have been a misspelling of "assai," and figured for sure it's a misspelling of something.

'Ossia' is definitely the term you are looking for.

So, what does allegro assia mean? Or is it allegro assio?

Switched letters again - I believe it should be "Allegro assai", or "faster than Allegro".

Interesting scores you guys are using.

Hehe, Allegro Assai Op. 39 No. 8--oh gosh, WHAT a piece...

Why are the scores interesting Fredil?

I think Fredil is referring to the multiple typos that the editors didn't catch. I rechecked my score and ossai is the (incorrect) spelling they use.

It is a watering hole in the desert, once you unscramble the letters.

Oasis.

Oh, well maybe it's a Rachmaninoff/Rachmaninov sort of deal?

A good on-line music dictionary is all that is needed. Here is one--maybe the only one, I don't know--from Virginia Tech. It's very complete, and easy to use.

http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/

Tomasino

I think Janus is treating us to his usual vicious sarcasm.