Morendo
Letting the sound die away at a phrase end, tempo easing with it
Related
Morendo comes from morire, "to die". It asks the sound to fade at the end of a phrase or section, usually with the tempo easing as well; not cut off, but allowed to run out. It is common in Romantic and operatic endings and is often abbreviated mor.
Morendo and smorzando can both be translated as "dying away", but the measure differs: smorzando is the act of smothering, morendo the process of a life running out, longer and quieter. It is not simply a ritardando; the tempo slackens as a consequence, while the fading is the point. Beside perdendosi, morendo keeps the music's outline, whereas perdendosi lets the outline go too.
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.