Nachahmend

As Printed on a Score

Printed over the part that echoes a figure just heard — in Lieder usually the piano answering the voice — sometimes with the Italian “imitando” beside it. With an object it names what is being imitated. It covers the imitating phrase only and lapses when that phrase ends.

How Composers Use It

A performance cue rather than a description of your counterpoint: it tells the player to copy the shape, articulation and nuance of the model, so the echo is heard as an answer. Use it where the imitation is easy to miss, or where the answering instrument would otherwise phrase differently. If the copy should be fainter, add the dynamic — nachahmend says nothing about level.

Example

Cornelius, 3 Lieder, Op. 4, “Möcht’ im Walde mit dir geh’n”, piano, m. 35: “nachahmend” with “imitando” printed beside it, two bars after a cresc.

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