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Tempo Marks
Tempo markings had been used since the early Baroque period, particularly with instrumental music. Not all instrumental music at that time had a tempo mark. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) often left out tempo marks in his keyboard music which was left to the discretion of the performer. The time of a piece was often determined by its purpose. Danse music was played at a certain tempo, depending on its style, so as to be danseable. Likewise, choral music had a certain tempo reflecting the mood of the text. Tempo markings became necessary to the point that Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) provided metronome markings instead of descriptive words.
Italian Terms
adagio: very slow.
allegretto: fairly quick, slightly slower than allegro.
allegro: lively, rather quick.
andante: rather slow, at a moderate, walking pace.
andantino: this used to mean a little slower than andante, but now it usually means a little faster than andante.
con moto: with movement, or a certain quickness.
grave: extremely slow and solemn.
largamente: broadly.
larghetto: less slow than largo.
largo: slow and broad.
lentamente: slowly.
lento: slow.
moderato: moderate pace.
prestissimo: as quick as possible.
presto: very quick.
rapido: rapid.
veloce: with velocity.
vivace: quick and lively.
German Terms
belebt: animated.
breit: broad.
breiter: broader.
geschwinder: more rapid, swift.
grossem: large, big.
klagend: lamenting.
langsam: slow.
langsamer: slower.
massig: moderate.
rasch: quick.
schnell: fast.
schneller: faster
French Terms
anime: animated.
grande: large, great.
grave: slow, solemn, deep slow.
gravement: gravely, solomnly.
lent: slow.
vif.: lively.
vite: fast.
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