Avec émotion

As Printed on a Score

Printed above a vocal line or melody at the phrase it colours, often beside a tempo change such as Un peu plus lent; it lasts for that phrase or passage until another character word.

Also spelled: avec emotion

How Composers Use It

Avec émotion asks performers to let feeling show: freer phrasing, warmer tone, a slight yielding of time. It is broad by nature, so it works best at a turning point where the music itself intensifies — not as a blanket marking for a whole movement. More specific words (ému, tendre, douloureux) say what kind of emotion you mean.

Example

Boulanger, Clairières dans le ciel, “Parfois, je suis triste”, voice, m. 22: “avec émotion”, with “Un peu plus lent” at p.

Related Terms