Strepitoso

What it means

Strepitoso means “noisy, loud” and calls for a loud, blustering performance. What is meant is a sound that deliberately goes beyond the measure of beautiful tone: forceful, massive, with a din.

The word goes back to strepito, “noise.” It concerns above all dynamics and tonal character and usually stands as an addition to a tempo word.

Strepitoso differs from fortissimo, which designates only volume, through its tonal character: a fortissimo can be round and full, a noisy performance is massive and unpolished. It differs from furioso, which expresses rage, in that no affect is meant but the tonal effect itself.

In the notation

The word stands in italics above the staff and applies until a new marking. Typical is proximity to powerful dynamics, full-grip chords, tremolos, fast runs, and the full use of the percussion.

Musical use

The designation is used in closing sections that are to end with a great din, in operatic finales in which the plot rushes to a head, and in piano pieces with orchestral ambition. In nineteenth-century music it is widespread, especially in virtuoso works and in stage music.

It often stands in stretta sections and closing sections of operas and overtures, where the music is to end rushingly; tutti, timpani, and brass carry the sound. Strepitoso is related to fragoroso and tempestoso. Despite all the volume, precision and ensemble must be maintained: the effect arises from energy and rhythmic clarity, not from mere din; the articulation stays sharp, the tempo stable.

Performance practice

Look for the force in the full engagement of arm and body, not in tensing up. Keep the rhythm exact despite the volume, for noise without order works merely chaotic. Keep reserve for the actual climax. And on the piano, take care that the pedal does not blur the harmonies into an indistinct mush of sound.