fugato

[foo-gah-toh, fyoo-]

noun

Music.

plural

fugatos 

1. a section of a composition that is in fugal style but does not constitute a real fugue.

fugato

/ fjʊˈɡɑːtəʊ /

adverb

1. in the manner or style of a fugue

noun

1. a movement, section, or piece in this style

Word History and Origins

Origin of fugato¹

From Italian, dating back to 1865–70; fugue, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of fugato¹

C19: from Italian, from fugare to compose in the style of a _fugue

Example Sentences

There’s a fugato in the piece.

Read more on New York Times

I have now been privy to several of these exuberant protocols; and of their music I have observed a great deal, and hope someday to learn the secrets of these consorts and write an account of the inexplicable tunings, the intricate complexities of rhythm, the simple fugato songs, as headlong catches, the rapt recitativo secco of their narration.

Read more on Literature

We finished the overture’s concluding fugato.

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The first, jerkily syncopated variation, for instance, represents the Cambrian explosion 500 million years ago; the aquatic blur of the second stands for the Devonian Age of Fishes; the stormy fugato of the 10th variation announces the arrival of Homo sapiens.

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The Fugato section of the challenging third movement was not perfectly coordinated, but it was fireworks enough for the crowd to demand an encore, the jazzy toccata from Friedrich Gulda’s “Play Piano Play.”

Read more on Washington Post