Wiktionary (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition: quaff (Noun). The act of quaffing, a deep draught. quaff (Verb). To drink or imbibe, especially with vigour. Origin: Attested since the mid 16th century, of uncertain origin. Suggestions include connection with Irish Gaelic cauch (whence Scots quaich, queff). The noun is derived from the verb, since the later 16th century.
The recitative is an outgrowth of the style of performing epic musical poetic works in folk singing. The emergence of the recitative in professional music was associated with the development of opera in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Here is one of my favorite movements from Handel's Messiah. Performed in the first act, this piece for chorus demands a flexible and nimble voice. The florid melody is sung at some point by each voice part. Normally this type of vocal run is written for sopranos and tenors, but the basses and altos must sing it too.