/tes'i toor"euh/ ; It. /tes'see tooh"rddah/ , n. , pl. tessituras, tessiture /-toor"ay/ ; It. /-tooh"rdde/ .
the general pitch level or average range of a vocal or instrumental part in a musical composition: an uncomfortably high tessitura.
[ 1890-95; textura; see TEXTURE ]