Calando
Growing softer and slower together, as if sinking away
Related
Calando comes from calare, "to lower, to sink". It ties dynamics to speed: the sound grows softer as it slows, like something settling downward. It is common at phrase endings, at transitions, and in operatic exits.
It differs from ritardando, which slows alone and may keep its force; in calando the slowing and fading are two sides of one motion. Calando is not a sudden stop: it needs a process, usually over several bars. Composers often write dim. and rit. together, but calando reminds the player that both must move as one; do only half and the music limps.
Sources
- 术语的释义与用法，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians（Oxford Music Online）相关条目；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.