moto perpetuo

/ ˈməʊtəʊ pəˈpɛtjʊəʊ /

noun

1. music a fast instrumental passage made up of notes of equal length

Word History and Origins

Origin of moto perpetuo¹

Italian, literally: perpetual motion

Example Sentences

Whether in the sinister, whirling moto perpetuo of the second Le Vent, or the funeral march of the last, Morte, which uses the Dies Irae as a frame and builds to a ferocious climax, Maltempo makes every effect count.

From The Guardian

The sparkling moto perpetuo that closes the piece — breathless at first, then increasingly percussive — instantly brought the audience to its feet.

From Seattle Times

The Toccata is, at present, understood to be a piece in constant and regular motion, very much like those that are called "moto perpetuo" or "perpetual motion," of which Weber's "Perpetuum mobile" is a good example.

From Project Gutenberg

But there seems always to be room for more, and on Sunday evening the Ensemble Moto Perpetuo introduced itself with a short but alluring program at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Manhattan.

From New York Times

Strosser frames the sonata with the manic moto perpetuo of Holliger's Trema and with Franco Donatoni's explosive Ali, which almost seems about to shake itself apart through its own irascibility; there's Lachenmann's Toccatina, too, a study originally written for violin, and one of Giacinto Scelsi's explorations of microtonal tunings in Manto, which requires the violist to sing as well as play in the final movement.

From The Guardian