Smorzando
Damping the sound out, often on a chord or phrase ending
Related
Smorzando comes from smorzare, "to extinguish, to damp". It asks the sound to die out at a close, like a flame being smothered, and is often marked on a chord, a motive or the end of a phrase, frequently abbreviated smorz.
Compared with the long dissolve of morendo, smorzando stresses the act of putting out; it can be very short, even applied to a single chord. It is not only softer but duller, losing gloss as it goes. Players combine less pressure, a slight slowing and a lighter touch; strings ease the bow. It is close to calando, but calando sinks as a whole while smorzando is more like a closing gesture.
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.