Stretto
Encyclopedia
The term stretto comes from the Italian
past participle of stringere, and means "narrow", "tight", or "close".
In music the Italian term stretto has two distinct meanings:
(1) In a fugue
, stretto is the imitation
of the subject in close succession, so that the answer enters before the subject is completed.
Stretto is typically employed near the end of a fugue, where, by increasing the textural intensity of what otherwise is already a texturally intense style of writing (i.e., fugue), the 'piling-up' of two or more temporally off-set statements of the subject (i.e., stretto) signals the arrival of the fugue's conclusion in climactic fashion, as may be seen in the Fugue No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, of Johann Sebastian Bach
's The Well-Tempered Clavier
. In other instances, stretto serves to display contrapuntal prowess, as in the Fugue No. 9 in E major, BWV 878, where Bach follows a traditional exposition (subject accompanied by countersubject) with a counterexposition in which the subject accompanies itself, in stretto, followed by the countersubject accompanying itself.
(2) In non-fugal compositions, a stretto (also sometimes spelled stretta) is a passage, often at the end of an aria or movement, in faster tempo. Examples include: the end of the last movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
; measure 227 of Chopin's Ballade No. 3; measures 16 and 17, of his Prelude No. 4 in E minor; and measure 25 of his Etude Op. 10, No. 12, "The Revolutionary."
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
past participle of stringere, and means "narrow", "tight", or "close".
In music the Italian term stretto has two distinct meanings:
(1) In a fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
, stretto is the imitation
Imitation (music)
In music, imitation is when a melody in a polyphonic texture is repeated shortly after its first appearance in a different voice, usually at a different pitch. The melody may vary through transposition, inversion, or otherwise, but retain its original character...
of the subject in close succession, so that the answer enters before the subject is completed.
Stretto is typically employed near the end of a fugue, where, by increasing the textural intensity of what otherwise is already a texturally intense style of writing (i.e., fugue), the 'piling-up' of two or more temporally off-set statements of the subject (i.e., stretto) signals the arrival of the fugue's conclusion in climactic fashion, as may be seen in the Fugue No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's The Well-Tempered Clavier
The Well-Tempered Clavier
The Well-Tempered Clavier , BWV 846–893, is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach...
. In other instances, stretto serves to display contrapuntal prowess, as in the Fugue No. 9 in E major, BWV 878, where Bach follows a traditional exposition (subject accompanied by countersubject) with a counterexposition in which the subject accompanies itself, in stretto, followed by the countersubject accompanying itself.
(2) In non-fugal compositions, a stretto (also sometimes spelled stretta) is a passage, often at the end of an aria or movement, in faster tempo. Examples include: the end of the last movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and best-known compositions in all of classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast...
; measure 227 of Chopin's Ballade No. 3; measures 16 and 17, of his Prelude No. 4 in E minor; and measure 25 of his Etude Op. 10, No. 12, "The Revolutionary."