Heftig

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff, sometimes with an exclamation mark (sehr heftig!), at an outburst; it describes the attack and character of the passage it governs. In headings it can join a tempo word (Eilig und heftig).

How Composers Use It

Vehement or violent — accents and full tone driven hard. Mahler marks one of the Fifth Symphony Scherzo’s outbursts sehr heftig! at fff. It is a character marking, so pair it with the dynamics and articulation that make vehemence possible, and use it sparingly.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, third movement (Scherzo), strings, m. 596: “sehr heftig!”, at fff.

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