Perdendosi

As Printed on a Score

Printed below or between the staves at the end of a passage, sometimes broken into syllables across bars (per - den - do - si) to show its length. It normally reaches pp or silence and is not cancelled; if the music goes on, a new section begins. Perdendo and sempre perdendo express the same idea.

Also spelled: per - den - do - si

How Composers Use It

The most poetic of the "dying away" markings. Perdendosi implies the music is literally losing itself — dissolving, vanishing. Use it for mystical endings, dream-like dissolutions, or moments where the music seems to evaporate into air.

Example

Chopin, Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35, second movement (Scherzo), m. 283: “perdendosi” is the last link in a chain — “rall.”, “lento”, “smorz.” — with pp two bars later.

Related Terms