Meanings
- pluralplural of crescendo
Wrong crescendi, which should be avoided, tend to appear at the end of passages ascending to the apex of melodies[.]
1989: Hermann Scherchen, Michel D. Calvocoressi [tr.], and Norman Del Mar [prefacer], Handbook of conducting, page 113 (Oxford University Press; →ISBN, 9780198161820)2 more examples
Short crescendi and diminuendi are generally produced by natural dynamic means; when prolonged, they are obtained by this method combined with other orchestral devices. […] Prolonged orchestral crescendi are obtained by the gradual addition of other instruments in the following order: strings, wood-wind, brass.
1964, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov et al., Principles of orchestration: with musical examples drawn from his own works, DoverPublications.com, →ISBN, page 112Furthermore, organ builders were at liberty to construct their register crescendi so that stops entered either one at a time or in groups of two or more. […] Of course, a sensitive organist would not rely wholly or even predominantly upon a register crescendo to effect stop changes, particularly when those changes had more to do with simple manipulation of tone color than with progressive crescendi.
2003, Christopher Anderson, Max Reger and Karl Straube: perspectives on an organ performing tradition, Ashgate Publishing, →ISBN, page 94, →ISBN
Cite this entry
crescendi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crescendi
“crescendi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crescendi. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crescendi,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crescendi.
Source: crescendi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.