Erstes Tempo

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff where the opening tempo returns after a contrasting section, often right after a ritard.; it holds until the next tempo word. More often engraved as Tempo I; in parentheses it may follow a descriptive word (Langsamer (erstes Tempo)).

Abbreviations: 1. Tempo, I. Tempo

Also spelled: Tempo I

How Composers Use It

Erstes Tempo or Tempo I names the movement’s opening speed directly, so it can cancel several intervening changes at once. It is the clearest way to signal a reprise. If the opening carried a metronome mark, reprinting it removes doubt, and if two earlier tempos could be meant, name the one you want.

Example

Schumann, Kreisleriana, Op. 16, No. 2, m. 59: “Erstes Tempo”, one bar after a ritard., at p.

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