(Lat. intonatio, Ital. intonazione). 1. Setting the pitch by the celebrant and/or cantor, for instance, for the Gloria or Credo. 2. Introductory notes for liturgical recitatives, for example, psalm notes. 3. Maintaining the pitch in song or other music. 4. An improvised or composed introductory piece to liturgical song by the organ or other instruments. 5. Tonal fine tuning in organ-building.
Bibliography
M. Reimann, MGG 1 VI, 1957, 1365–1370
B. Sydow-Saak, “Intonatio-Intonation/intonare-intonieren,” HMT III, 1984.