stretto
Americannoun
noun
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(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
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Also called: stretta. a concluding passage in a composition, played at a faster speed than the earlier material
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of stretto
1745–55; < Italian: literally, narrow < Latin strictus. See strict, strait
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
His manœuvre that morning had been a wild and undisciplined fugue, culminating in an unconventional stretto upon an exceedingly dominant pedal-point, that is to say, his heel on my toe.
From Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, November 25, 1914 by Seaman, Owen, Sir
Mistress Page then enters with the subject, followed by Sweet Anne in stretto, Pistol meanwhile starting with the counter-subject, closely followed by Ford, with Dr Caius in stretto.
From Shakespeare and Music by Wilson, Christopher
He was thinking more of his prima donna than of Elcia when he wrote that stretto.
From Massimilla Doni by Balzac, Honoré de
The Duchess sat on the floor of the box reading one of them, and turning of course very rapidly over the leaves during the stretto of the "Leonora" overture.
From The Mapleson Memoirs, vol I 1848-1888 by Mapleson, James H.
"Dov' e mai quel core amante," she murmured in Italian, as la Tinti began the delightful aria of the stretto in which she implores pity for her grief.
From Massimilla Doni by Balzac, Honoré de
I see it in his eye, I hear it in the tread of his foot; /volto sciolto/ he has not; /i pensieri stretti/ he has.
From My Novel — Volume 06 by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
‘Signor Arrigo mio,’ says he, ‘I pensieri stretti ed il viso sciolto will go safely over the whole world.’
From Minor Poems by Milton by Milton, John
The Italians have a proverb, which I hope you have not forgot poor Pierrotti's lessons so far as not to comprehend—'Volto sciolto e pensieri stretti.'
From Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 7 A Series of Pen and Pencil Sketches of the Lives of More Than 200 of the Most Prominent Personages in History by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)
I see it in his eye, I hear it in the tread of his foot; volto sciolto he has not; i pensieri stretti he has.
From My Novel — Complete by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
Milton had not acted on Sir Henry Wootton's advice to him, il volto sciolto, i pensieri stretti.
From Life of John Milton by Garnett, Richard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
