are also commonly used to indicate such an accent.
In interpreting these accent marks the student must bear in mind again the fact that they have a relative rather than an absolute meaning: the mark sf occurring in the midst of a piano passage will indicate a much milder form of accent than would the same mark occurring in the midst of a forte passage.
123. The words rinforzando and rinforzato (abb.—rinf. and rfz.) mean literally reinforced, and are used to indicate a sudden increase in power usually extending over an entire phrase or passage instead of applying only to a single tone or chord as in the case of sforzando, etc.
124. Crescendo (abb.—cresc. or
) means a gradual increase in power. It will be noted that this word does not mean loud, nor does it mean a sudden increase in power unless accompanied by some auxiliary term such as subito, or molto.
Broadly speaking there are two varieties of crescendo: (1) that in which the same tone increases in power while being prolonged; (2) that in which succeeding tones are each sounded more strongly than the preceding one. The first variety is possible only on instruments giving forth a tone which can be varied after it begins. Thus e.g., the human voice, the violin, the organ enclosed in a swell box, and certain wind instruments, are all capable of sounding a tone softly at first and gradually increasing the volume until the maximal point of power has been reached. But on the piano, organ not enclosed in a swell-box, kettle drum, etc., the power of the tone cannot be varied after the tone has once been sounded, and a crescendo effect is therefore possible only in a passage, in rendering which each succeeding tone is struck more forcibly than its immediate predecessor. This second variety of crescendo offers a means of dramatic effect which may be employed most strikingly, as e.g., when a long passage begins very softly and increases in power little by little until the utmost resources of the instrument or orchestra have been reached. A notable example of such an effect is found in the transition from the third to the fourth movements of the Beethoven Fifth Symphony.
The difference between sforzando, rinforzando, and crescendo should now be noted: sforzando indicates that a single tone or chord is to be louder; rinforzando, that an entire passage is to be louder, beginning with its first tone; but crescendo indicates that there is to be a gradual increase in power, this increase sometimes occurring during the sounding of a single tone, but more often in a passage.
125. Certain combinations of the word crescendo with other words are so common that they should be especially noted. Among these are: