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Free in tempo: the beat handled freely, as in senza tempo; im Takt restores strict time.
Printed above a passage of free delivery, sometimes beside an Italian equivalent (Robert Franz pairs it with “senza tempo”); it lasts until “im Takt” or a tempo restores strict time.
Free in tempo: the beat may stretch and press, as in recitative or rubato, while the notation keeps its bar lines. Use it for declamatory moments, and mark the return clearly (im Takt). In a song the accompanist must follow the singer through the freedom, so keep the accompaniment simple enough to follow. For a slighter freedom, rubato is the gentler word.
Franz, 6 Gesänge, Op. 16, “Um Mitternacht”, voice, m. 28: “frei im Takt” with “senza tempo”; at m. 29 “im Takt” and “a tempo” restore strict time.
Frei im Takt is one of 1755 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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