Con affetto

As Printed on a Score

Printed as a phrase after a tempo word and a comma — Poco allegro, con affetto; Andante con affetto — above the staff when it heads a section, or beside the dynamic when it shapes a single phrase. It has no cancelling word; the next tempo or character direction supersedes it.

How Composers Use It

Con affetto is the noun phrase that affettuoso turns into an adjective; the two mean the same, and the choice is mostly about how the words read after a tempo word. It asks for warmth and a little give in the phrasing, not a slower tempo. Liszt heads Liebestraum No. 3 with it; pair it with dolce or cantando when you also want the tone soft and sustained, since con affetto alone says nothing about level.

Example

Liszt, Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat major, piano, opening: “Poco allegro, con affetto”, printed alongside “dolce cantando” and p.

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