Con gravità

As Printed on a Score

Printed beside the dynamic or attached to a tempo word in a heading, at slow, weighty music. It holds until the next tempo or character direction; the French avec gravité appears the same way.

Also spelled: con gravita

How Composers Use It

Con gravità asks for seriousness and weight: measured pace, broad tone, dignified phrasing with no lightness or haste. It is close to Grave in character but does not itself fix a tempo, so pair it with one. It suits solemn introductions, chorales and processional music; on fast music it reads as a call for weight in the attack rather than for slowness.

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