tempo

tempo [Ital.,=time], in music, the speed of a composition. The composer's intentions as to tempo are conventionally indicated by a set of Italian terms, of which the principal ones are presto (very fast), vivace (lively), allegro (fast), moderato (moderate), andante (moderate, literally a "walking" tempo), adagio (slow), lento (slower than adagio ), and largo (very slow); accelerando (increasing the speed) and ritardando (slowing down) are directions to alter the tempo momentarily and are canceled by a tempo. Since Beethoven's time many composers have given metronomic indications, which, despite their seeming infallibility, are often misleading, and tempo remains a point of subjective interpretation. Acoustical factors influence the choice of a tempo but account less for the divergence between different performances than does the performer's interpretation of the work.

tempo, tempi (It.). Time(s). The speed at which a piece of mus. is perf. The anglicized ‘tempos’ is an acceptable plural, like ‘concertos’. Among the many mus. terms containing the word are the following: a tempo, resume orig. speed; tempo a piacere, please yourself what speed; tempo comodo, at a comfortable or moderate speed; tempo di ballo, in dance time, or a movt. in dance style; tempo di gavotta, in gavotte tempo; tempo di minuetto, in minuet time; tempo giusto, in exact time, or at speed the style of the mus. demands; tempo maggiore, same as alla breve (take the half-note as your beat unit); tempo minore, tempo ordinario, ordinary time, moderate speed, same speed as before; tempo primo, resume orig. speed; tempo rubato, see rubato; tempo wie vorher (Ger.), same as tempo primo.

tempo (mus.) relative speed or rate of movement. XVIII. — It. :- L. tempus time.