Anschwellend

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the staff, or above a vocal line, over the notes that should swell, often with a hairpin. The growth lasts until a new dynamic or, in a swell-and-fade, until the matching abschwellend.

How Composers Use It

Anschwellend — swelling — is the German crescendo with a physical image: the sound fills out like a wave, not only louder but fuller. It suits long notes and sustained chords as much as moving lines. Give it a target dynamic; on a single held note it asks wind and string players for a growth like the first half of a messa di voce.

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