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In fugue: entries of the subject overlapping before the previous entry is complete, creating increased intensity. In general: a passage of accelerating tension toward a climax.
Stretto is the fugue's ultimate intensification device — voices pile on top of each other. Plan stretto possibilities when designing your subject: test whether it can overlap with itself at various time intervals. Save stretto for the climactic final section of the fugue.
Bach's Fugue in C-sharp minor, WTC Book I (5 voices) — the final stretto combines all five voices in overlapping entries, one of the most impressive moments in all of Bach.
Stretto is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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