Chapter XII: TEMPO (Continued)

110. Innumerable combinations of the words defined in Sec. 109 with one another and with other words occur. Some of these combinations with their approximate meanings follow. The meaning of any such expression not found in the list may usually be arrived at by consulting the terms defined in paragraph 109 and recalling the use of certain auxiliary terms quoted in Chapter IX.

_Largo assai_--very slow.

_Largo di molto_--very slow.

_Largo ma non troppo_--slow, but not too slow.

_Largo un poco_--slow, but not so slow as _largo_. (_Cf.
larghetto_.)

_Lentemente_--slowly.

_Lentando_--with increasing slowness.

_Très lentement_--very slowly.

_Lentissamente_--very slowly.

_Lentissamamente_--very slowly.

_Lento assai_--very slowly.

_Lento a capriccio_--slowly but capriciously.

_Lento di molto_--very slowly.

_Andante affettuoso_--moderately slow, and with tenderness and
pathos. [Transcriber's Note: Corrected error "affetuoso" in
original.]

_Andante amabile_--moderately slow, and lovingly.

_Andante cantabile_--moderately slow, and in singing style.

_Andante grazioso_--moderately slow, and gracefully.

_Andante maestoso_--moderately slow, and majestically.

_Andante con moto_--slightly faster than _andante_.

_Andante (ma) non troppo_--not too slowly.

_Andante pastorale_--moderately slow, and in simple and
unaffected style; (lit. rural, pastoral).

_Andante quasi allegro_--almost as rapid in tempo as
_allegro_; (lit. an _andante_ in the style of _allegro_).

_Andante sostenuto_--moderately slow and sustained.

_Allegrissimo_--much faster than _allegro_. (The superlative
degree of _allegro_.)

_Allegro agitato_--a moderately rapid tempo, and in agitated
style.

_Allegro appassionata_--a moderately rapid tempo, and in
passionate style.

_Allegro assai_ (very _allegro_)--faster than _allegro_.

_Allegro commodo_--a conveniently rapid tempo.

_Allegro con brio_--an _allegro_ played in brilliant style.
Faster than _allegro_.

_Allegro con fuoco_--an _allegro_ played with fire, _i.e._,
with extreme animation. Faster than _allegro_.

_Allegro con spirito_--an _allegro_ performed with spirit.

_Allegro con moto_--faster than _allegro_.

_Allegro di bravura_--an _allegro_ performed in brilliant
style, _i.e._, demanding great skill in execution.

_Allegro furioso_ (furiously)--quicker than _allegro_; very
brilliant.

_Allegro giusto_--an _allegro_ movement, but in exact rhythm.

_Allegro ma grazioso_--an _allegro_ played in graceful style.

_Allegro (ma) non tanto_--an _allegro_ movement, but not too
rapid.

_Allegro (ma) non troppo_--an _allegro_ movement, but not too
rapid.

_Allegro (ma) non presto_--an _allegro_ movement, but not too
rapid.

_Allegro moderato_--slower than _allegro_.

_Allegro vivace_--faster than _allegro_.

_Presto assai_--as rapidly as possible.

_Presto (ma) non troppo_--a _presto_ movement, but not too
rapid.

111. There are certain _terms which indicate a modification of the normal tempo_ of a movement, these being divided into two classes, (a) those terms which indicate in general a slower tempo, and (b) those which indicate in general a more rapid tempo. The further subdivisions of these two classes are shown below.

(_a_) Terms indicating a slower tempo.

1. Terms indicating a _gradual_ retard.

_Ritenente_, (_rit._), _ritenuto_ (_rit._), _ritardando_
(_rit._), _rallentando_ (_rall._), _slentando_.

2. Terms indicating a tempo which is to become definitely
slower _at once_.

_Più lento_ (lit. more slowly), _meno mosso_ (lit. less
movement).

3. Terms indicating a slower tempo combined with an increase
in power.

_Largando_, _allargando._ These words are both derived from
_largo_, meaning large, broad.

(For terms indicating both slower tempo and softer tone, see page 59, Sec. 127.)

The student should note the difference between groups 1 and 2
as given above: the terms in group 1 indicate that each
measure, and even each pulse in the measure, is a little
slower than the preceding one, while such terms as _più lento_
and _meno mosso_ indicate a rate of speed becoming instantly
slower and extending over an entire phrase or passage. Some
composers (_e.g._, Beethoven and Couperin) have evidently had
this same distinction in mind between _rallentando_ and
_ritardando_ on the one hand, and _ritenuto_ and _ritenente_
on the other, considering the former (_rall._ and _rit._) to
indicate a gradually slackening speed, and the latter
(_ritenuto_ and _ritenente_) to indicate a definitely slower
rate. The majority of composers do not however differentiate
between them in this way, and it will therefore hardly be
worth while for the student to try to remember the
distinction.

(_b_) Terms indicating a more rapid tempo.

1. Terms indicating a gradual acceleration.

_Accelerando_, _affrettando_ [Transcriber's Note: Corrected
misspelling "affretando" in original] (this term implies some
degree of excitement also), _stringendo_, _poco a poco
animato_.

2. Terms indicating a tempo which is to become definitely
faster at once.

_Più allegro_, _più tosto_, _più mosso_, _stretto_, _un poco
animato_.

112. After any modification in tempo (either faster or slower) has been suggested it is usual to indicate a return to the normal rate by some such expression as _a tempo_ (lit. in time), _a tempo primo_ (lit. in the first time), _tempo primo_, or _tempo_.

113. _Tempo rubato_ (or _a tempo rubato_) means literally _in robbed time_, _i.e._, duration taken from one measure or beat and given to another, but in modern practice the term is quite generally applied to any irregularity of rhythm or tempo not definitely indicated in the score.

The terms _ad libitum_, (_ad lib._), _a piacere_, and _a capriccio_, also indicate a modification of the tempo at the will of the performer. _Ad libitum_ means at liberty; _a piacere_, at pleasure; and _a capriccio_, at the caprice (of the performer).

114. The term _tempo giusto_ is the opposite of _tempo rubato_ (and of the other terms defined in paragraph 113). It means literally _in exact time_. (_Tempo giusto_ is sometimes translated _quite rapidly_,[29] but this is very unusual.)

[Footnote 29: Bussler--Elements of Notation and Harmony, p. 76.]

115. _L'istesso tempo_ means--at the same rate of speed. _E.g._, when a measure signature changes from 2/4 to 6/8 with a change in beat-note from a quarter to a dotted-quarter, but with the same tempo carried through the entire movement.

116. _Tenuto_ (_ten._) indicates that a tone or chord is to be held to its full value. This word is sometimes used after a staccato passage to show that the staccato effect is to be discontinued, but is often used merely as a warning not to slight a melody-tone--_i.e._, to give it its full value.

117. _Veloce_ means--swiftly, and is applied to brilliant passages (_e.g._, cadenzas) which are to be played as rapidly as possible without much regard for measure rhythm. The words _rapidamente_, _brillante_ and _volante_ (flying) have the same meaning as _veloce_.

118. The following _expressions referring to tempo_ are also in common use but cannot easily be classified with any of the groups already defined.

_Con moto_--with motion; _i.e._, not too slow.

_Pesante_--slowly, heavily.

_Doppio movimento_--twice as rapid as before.

_Tempo ordinario_--in ordinary tempo.

_Tempo commodo_--in convenient tempo.

_Sempre lento malinconico assai_--always slowly and in a very
melancholy style.

_Animando_, _animato_, _con anima_--with animation.

_Agitato_--agitated.

119. _Tempo di marcia_ is given by Riemann (Dictionary of Music, p. 783) as equivalent to _andante_, M.M. 72-84. The same writer gives _tempo di menuetto_ as equivalent to _allegretto_, and _tempo di valso_ as equivalent to _allegro moderato_ (which he regards as indicating a more rapid tempo than _allegretto_).