The Grand Pause
n. an exaggeration of a suspended moment of silence.
The Grand Pause is a term borrowed from music that names an exploitation of anticipation. It is the “pregnant silence.” The grand pause is not to be confused with stillness. This absence of sound is robust with yearning. It is absolutely active. The grand pause is the holding of one’s breath that we know will have to release eventually. If the attempted grand pause has no sense of urgency and imminence, if it accomplishes no bodied motion, then it is a failed silence. If it feels like an anacrusis leaning ever toward a crusis, then the extended silence can be quite breathtaking, pulling attention and relaying an exceptional type of power.
see Anacrusis–Crusis–Metacrusis