Belebter

As Printed on a Score

A comparative tempo word printed above the staff, often qualified: “etwas belebter”, “noch belebter”, or gradually, “nach und nach belebter”. It means livelier than the music just before, and lasts until the next tempo word or a return such as Tempo I.

How Composers Use It

Use it for a relative step up in pace — the German più animato. Without nach und nach it reads as an immediate change; with it, a gradual one. Because its meaning depends on the tempo before it, qualify it (etwas, noch) to say how much, and mark the way back clearly (Erstes Tempo, Voriges Zeitmaß) so the performer knows when the quickening ends.

Example

Wolf, Mörike-Lieder, “Verborgenheit”, m. 20: “nach und nach belebter und leidenschaftlicher” — livelier and more passionate by degrees, not at once.

Related Terms