Con malinconia

As Printed on a Score

Printed beside the dynamic or attached to a tempo word in a heading. It colours the passage until another character direction replaces it; the adjectives malinconico and melancolico do the same job in one word.

How Composers Use It

Con malinconia asks for a withdrawn, wistful sadness — muted colour, gentle weight, nothing theatrical. It is quieter than con dolore and less explicit than lamentoso, so it suits slow movements and introspective songs at p or mp. Combine it with a tempo word rather than letting it set the pace: melancholy suggests slowness without defining it.

Related Terms