Immer langsamer

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff where a gradual slowing should continue over a longer stretch, often near an ending. It lasts until a new tempo word, a fermata or the end; a tempo or Tempo I restores the pace.

How Composers Use It

A continuing ritardando: the music keeps slowing rather than settling at a new tempo. Use it for endings that wind down and for transitions into a slower section; if you want a new, steady tempo, write that tempo word instead. It pairs naturally with immer leiser in fade-outs.

Example

Wolf, Mörike-Lieder, “Auf einer Wanderung”, piano, m. 46: “immer langsamer”, as the level sinks from p to pp.

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