stretto

[stret-oh]

noun, plural stret·ti [stret-ee] /ˈstrɛt i/, stret·tos. Music.

the close overlapping of statements of the subject in a fugue, each voice entering immediately after the preceding one.

Origin of stretto

1745–55; < Italian: literally, narrow < Latin strictus. See strict, strait

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stretto

Historical Examples of stretto

A stretto is a net, and if one is not constantly on the watch, he is caught in its meshes.
An American Girl in Munich
Mabel W. Daniels
One of its rules was that every fugue should have a stretto.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 2
Various
He was thinking more of his prima donna than of Elcia when he wrote that stretto.
Massimilla Doni
Honore de Balzac
The scena ends with a stretto, a concluding passage taken in more rapid tempo in order to enhance the effect.
The Complete Opera Book
Gustav Kobb
The chief feature in this brilliant passage is a piling up of the theme in stretto form (see measures 148-153).
Music: An Art and a Language
Walter Raymond Spalding

British Dictionary definitions for stretto

stretto

noun plural -tos or -ti (-tiː)

(in a fugue) the close overlapping of two parts or voices, the second one entering before the first has completed its statement of the subject

Also called: stretta (ˈstrɛtə) a concluding passage in a composition, played at a faster speed than the earlier material

Word Origin for stretto

C17: from Italian, from Latin strictus tightly bound; see strict

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012