Stretto
adj, adv, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The presence of two close or overlapping statements of the subject of a fugue, especially towards the end. countable, uncountable
"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."
- 2 An acceleration in the tempo of an opera that produces an ending climax. countable, uncountable
- 1 Having gradually increasing speed. not-comparable
"So that over and above the public components – holidays, tourist attractions – there are private meanderings, linked to the climate as if this spell were a stretto passage in the year’s fugue: haphazard weather, aimless loves, unpredicted commitments…"
- 1 With gradually increasing speed. not-comparable
Example
More examples"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."
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian stretto. Doublet of strait and strict.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.