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Sweetly, gently — with a tender, soft character.
Dolce implies both soft dynamics and sweet character. Use it for tender melodies, lullaby passages, or moments of warmth within dramatic works. It is softer and more intimate than cantabile.
Brahms's Symphony No. 1, finale — the great horn theme enters dolce, a moment of pure lyrical beauty amid the movement's drama.
Dolce is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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