Con anima

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as a heading (Con anima, Allegretto con anima) or mid-phrase to warm a passage, sometimes right after an a tempo. It describes character, usually with a slight forward impulse, and lasts until the next character or tempo word.

How Composers Use It

Con anima asks for music played from the heart. It implies emotional depth without specifying exactly what emotion. Use it when you want performers to invest the passage with genuine feeling.

Example

Butterworth, Bredon Hill and Other Songs, “Bredon Hill”, voice: “Con anima” heads the song, with p in its opening bars.

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