You will have seen the phrase lento written in the beginning of a rating and puzzled what it means – it’s the time period utilized in music to point a bit must be performed with a really sluggish tempo (slower even than adagio).
How sluggish is lento?
Tempos are measured in beats per minute (BPM) and lento often falls between 40-60 BPM on a metronome. It is a related tempo vary to largo, nonetheless largo additionally signifies the music must be performed broadly.
Why is it known as lento?
Italian phrases have develop into mainstream in classical music, with lento (translating as ‘sluggish’ or ‘sluggish’) being a chief instance. It is because it was Italian composers who first formally began to put in writing such phrases on their scores, and the phrases quickly caught on all through the Western world.
Examples of lento music
The third motion of Beethoven’s String Quartet No 16 is only one instance of a Lento tempo. In truth, this piece’s rating is usually marked ‘lento assai’, which means ‘very slowly’.
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