Doucement expressif

As Printed on a Score

Printed above or below the part carrying the melody at the start of an expressive passage, usually with p or pp; it lasts until a new manner word.

How Composers Use It

Gently expressive: expression without force, close to the Italian dolce espressivo. It asks the player to shape the line while keeping the tone soft and the gestures small — useful for inner melodies and quiet solos where a full espressivo would be too much. Satie gives it to the piano at pp in Socrate; Lili Boulanger uses it in the piano of Clairières dans le ciel.

Example

Satie, Socrate, “Mort de Socrate”, piano, m. 9: “doucement expressif” at pp, two bars after an mf.

Related Terms