Il

As Printed on a Score

Appears inside phrases before the noun it introduces (“il più forte possibile”, “marcato il canto”, “stringendo il tempo”, “Attacca subito il seguente”), with la for feminine nouns and lo before s + consonant. The phrase lasts as its main word does.

Also spelled: la, lo

How Composers Use It

Il often points the player at one part of the texture: marcato il canto (bring out the melody), il basso espressivo, ben marcato il tema. That makes it a handy device for voicing instructions in piano and orchestral writing, naming which line should lead. In superlatives such as il più forte possibile it marks the extreme. Keep these phrases attached to the staff they concern so the reference is unambiguous.

Example

Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 (“Moonlight”), first movement, m. 69: “Attacca subito il seguente” in the movement’s last bar.

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