A stretto is most often used to intensify the contrapuntal density of a piece, often signifying arrival at the fugue's conclusion, as seen in Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book I, Fugue No. 1 (External Shockwave movie). In other instances stretto serves to display contrapuntal inventiveness, as in the E Major fugue (External Shockwave movie) from WTC Book II, where Bach follows a traditional exposition (subject accompanied by countersubject) with a counterexposition in which the subject accompanies itself, in stretto, followed by the countersubject accompanying itself.
When written as an expressive mark in a piece, "stretto" indicates a temporary accelerando or hastening forward, as in measure 227 of Chopin's third ballade, measures 16 and 17, of his Prelude no. 4 in e minor and measure 25 of his Etude op. 10 no. 25, the Revolutionary.
See also
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Last updated on Sunday September 14, 2008 at 05:26:31 PDT (GMT -0700)
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