A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Andamento

by William Smyth Rockstro

ANDAMENTO (Italian verbal substantive, from andare, to go, to move). A form of Fugal Subject, more highly developed, and of greater length, than the ordinary Soggetto, and generally, though not by any means invariably, consisting of two distinct members, more or less strongly contrasted with each other, and consequently calculated to add materially to the interest of a long and exhaustively-developed Fugue.

It is in these respects that the Andamento most strikingly differs from the more usual Soggetto; which, as Cherubini naïvely remarks, 'should neither be too long nor too short, but of a convenient length'; and which is generally, though not always, of a more homogeneous character: while the Attacco, shorter still, and frequently consisting of no more than three or four notes, culled from the Subject, or one of its Counter-Subjects, is a mere Point of Imitation, introduced for the purpose of adding interest to the composition, binding it more closely together, or establishing a more intimate correspondence of style between its various sections.

A Fugue developed from a well-considered Andamento must, of necessity, be a lengthy one. A fine instance of an Andamento consisting of two distinct sections will be found in the last Movement of the Chorus, 'When his loud voice,' in Handel's 'Jephthah,' at the words 'They now contract.'

The 'Amen Chorus,' in the 'Messiah,' affords another equally fine example, in which the two sections, though distinctly separated, are not so strongly contrasted with each other.

On the other hand, in the Chorus, 'Righteous Heaven,' in 'Susanna,' the subject introduced at the words, 'Tremble guilt,' though phrased in three divisions which admit of distinct breathing-places between them, is very nearly homogeneous in its general character.

Nearly all the Fugues in Sebastian Bach's 'Wohltemperirte Klavier' are formed upon Soggetti; while nearly all his finest Organ Fugues, with Pedal Obbligato, are developed from long and well-sustained Andamenti. A curious instance, in two sections, will be found in the Fugue in E major, the Subject of which is given in vol. iv. 136 a.

In the well-known Fugue in G minor, the construction of the Andamento is a miracle of melodic skill:—

One of the finest Andamenti to be found among Fugues of later date is that which forms the Subject of the 'Zauberflöte' Overture. Another forms the Theme of the first of Mendelssohn's Six Fugues for the Pianoforte (op. 35).

Andamenti may be found both in Real and Tonal Fugue; the examples are, however, much more frequent in the former than in the latter. The Andamento is frequently used in combination, both with the Soggetto and the Attacco; and either, or both of them, may occasionally be found in combination with a Canto fermo. The 'Hallelujah Chorus' is developed from a Canto fermo adapted to the words, 'For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth,' a Soggetto, 'And He shall reign, for ever and ever,' and a constantly-varying Attacco, 'Hallelujah,' which, under a multitude of changing forms, serves to bind the powerfully-contrasted elements of the composition into a consistent whole.

Sebastian Bach's Choral Vorspiel, 'Wir glauben all' an einen Gott,' is based upon a Canto fermo, an Andamento, and a Soggetto.

In this case, the Canto fermo, were it not for the fact that it is an old Ecclesiastical Melody, and not an original Theme, might be technically described as the true Soggetto, and the Soggetto as a Counter-Subject, the office of which it performs throughout the entire composition. See Attacco, and Soggetto, in Appendix.

[ W. S. R. ]