Volante

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff or over a part as a character word for a light, rapid passage, lasting until a contrasting word such as legato or pesante appears. In string parts “staccato volante” names a specific bowing, flying staccato.

Also spelled: Volando

How Composers Use It

Volante asks for flight: rapid, feather-light passagework that seems to skim the instrument, with no weight on individual notes. It is close to leggiero and volando but adds the sense of speed. For strings, staccato volante is a virtuoso bow stroke, so ask for it only where players can manage it; for keyboard and winds the word describes a fleet, airy texture rather than a technique.

Example

Scriabin, Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, m. 247: “Leggerissimo volando” at p, with “accel.” in the next bar.

Related Terms