(Ger.).
A term invented by Hugo Riemann for which there is no immediately intelligible English translation. Devise means ‘device’, in the sense of Longfellow's ‘a banner with the strange device’. Riemann used the term to describe a common characteristic of Baroque arias: the singer begins with the opening of his first phrase, followed by an instrumental ritornello, and then sings it complete. ‘Motto aria’ is often used as an alternative term.
JACK WESTRUP