Finale
The last movement of a multi-part work.
What it means
The finale is the last movement of a multi-movement work — a symphony, sonata, concerto, or quartet — or the concluding section of an act in opera. In both cases it has the task of concluding the whole and setting a weight that corresponds to what has gone before. Frequently used forms are rondo, sonata movement, variations, or mixed forms of these; none is compulsory.
Musical use
Historically the significance of the closing movement changes. In the music of the eighteenth century it is often the lightest, fastest movement, a cheerful conclusion after the weighty opening movement. In the nineteenth century the weight shifts: the finale becomes the goal of the whole work, takes up material of earlier movements and intensifies it, at times with the inclusion of chorus or solo voices. In opera the act finale is a large-scale, multi-part section in which the action comes to a head and more and more characters come together on stage; the music runs through instead of falling apart into numbers.
In opera the finale designates the end of an act in which many persons sing together.
Performance practice
Plan the finale from the whole work: its tempo and its weight must fit the preceding movements, otherwise it seems tacked on. Hold back strength so that the intensification at the end remains possible. Bring out thematic references back, if the work contains them. In opera finales an overview of the staging layout is necessary, because music and stage action interlock; settle entries and positions early. Practise fast closing intensifications deliberately also at a slow tempo so that they do not run away in the concert.
Remember that in many works the finale concludes the tempo relations of the whole cycle: too fast a closing tempo seems rushed, too slow a one lets the form sag. Check the relation to the opening movement. With finale movements with thematic references back, it is worthwhile to make the passages concerned audible. Plan your strength so that the closing intensification still has reserves.