Con furia

As Printed on a Score

A character direction printed above the staff, alone or joined to others (vertiginoso con furia), and governing the passage until the next character word. It sets manner, not tempo, though it usually arrives at a fast tempo or a climax.

How Composers Use It

Close to furioso, but as a con phrase it attaches easily to another word to say how a passage should be attacked. It asks for violence in articulation and accent — sharp attacks, sudden stresses, a sense of control slipping — not necessarily more speed or volume. Use it sparingly, at a culmination, and back it with dynamics and accents so the effect is written into the notes.

Example

Scriabin, Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, m. 409: “vertiginoso con furia” (dizzying, with fury), followed by an sf in the next bar.

Related Terms