recitative

a speech like style of singing used in opera, oratorio, and cantata

Emerged around 1600 as the most important turning point in music history. A vocal style designed to imitate and emphasise the natural inflections of speech, and to closely follow the meter. Recitative is a cross between speech and song. Music became subservient to the words. Recitative is sung either to a continuo accompaniment (recitativo secco) or to a written-out fully developed accompaniment (recitativo accompagnato). Wagner's unending melodies are indeed nothing but a recitative of the highest expressiveness and dramatic significance.