Finale

Finale, the name given to that part of a musical composition which finishes the act of an opera; also to the last movement of an instrumental composition, as in the symphony, quartette, quintette, sonata, &c. The instrumental finale varies greatly in form, from the lively rondos of Haydn to the gigantic vocal finale, in variation form, of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The operatic finale, as usually understood, is a concerted piece, sometimes extending to a considerable number of different movements, for one, two, or more single voices, with or without chorus. The best type is to be found in Mozart's operas. In Wagner's works there are no finales separable from the preceding parts of the acts; each act is a continuous whole.