Italian Affect (Tempo) Terms
| Italian | Literal meaning |
|---|---|
| Allegra * Allegro | cheerful, happy, playful (i.e. not ‘fast’) |
| Ad asio * Adagio | at ease, relaxed (i.e. not ‘slow’) |
| Andante (from andare–to go) | going, flowing, moving (i.e. not ‘slow’) |
| Largo | broad (i.e. not ‘slow’) |
| Lento | slow, leisurely |
| Presto | quick, quickly |
| Vivace | vivacious, full of life (slower than allegro) |
| Grave | heavy, serious (not necessarily slow) |
* early 17th century
French Affect (Tempo) Terms and their Italian equivalents
| French | Literal meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Lentement | slowly (Lento) |
|
| Gay (Gai) | gay, merry, cheerful (Allegro) |
|
| Gayement | gaily, cheerfully (Allegro) |
|
| Gracieusement | gracefully, graciously | |
| Vivement (vivant) | lively, vivacious, vivid (Vivace) |
|
| Légèrement | lightly, gently | |
| Gravement | solemnly, seriously (Grave) |
|
| Tendrement | tenderly | |
| Vîte (viste) | quickly (Presto) |
|
| Rondement | roundly, simply (Andante) |
Affects in the typical Baroque Sonata (from Corelli onwards)
| Affect | Type of movement |
|---|---|
| 1st movement | |
| severe | slow allemande |
| majestic | French overture (esp. dotted Grave opening section) |
| solemn | |
| proud | |
| 2nd movement | |
| resolute | fugue (fast) |
| contented | |
| 3rd movement | |
| tender | (operatic) arioso/aria |
| melancholic | triple metre / sarabande rhythm (often with hemiolas) |
| 4th movement | |
| light | fast allemande |
| carefree | gigue / gavotte / minuet |