Effacé

As Printed on a Score

Printed above a line or part that should recede, often with a comparison — effacé, comme au début — and usually at p or pp. It holds until the part is brought forward again (en dehors, expressif) or a new character word appears.

Also spelled: efface

How Composers Use It

Effacé asks a performer to step back: the material stays audible but yields the foreground, as if half erased. It is the opposite of en dehors and is about role more than level — an effacé line at p sits behind another line at p. Use it for accompaniments, echoes and returning ideas that should feel remembered rather than restated; in songs it can apply to the voice itself.

Example

Boulanger, Clairières dans le ciel, “Deux ancolies”, voice, m. 12: “effacé, comme au début” at pp — the singer asked to recede as at the opening.

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