stretto

Definition

The presence of two close or overlapping statements of the subject of a fugue, especially towards the end.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian stretto. Doublet of strait and strict.

Example Sentences

• "In classical music there are, as the analytical programs tell us, first subjects and second subjects, free fantasias, recapitulations, and codas; there are fugues, with counter-subjects, strettos, and pedal points; there are passacaglias on ground basses, canons ad hypodiapente, and other ingenuities, which have, after all, stood or fallen by their prettiness as much as the simplest folk-tune."