Joyeux

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as a character word, most often in an opening heading joined to a tempo or colour — Joyeux et animé, joyeux et tendre, joyeux et très sonore — and kept until a new character word. The feminine joyeuse agrees with a feminine noun in longer phrases.

Also spelled: joyeuse

How Composers Use It

Joyeux asks for open, radiant happiness — fuller and warmer than gai, which is lighter and more playful. Debussy uses it in combinations that fix the colour of the joy: tender, resonant, or brisk. Because it says nothing about speed or loudness, couple it with a tempo or dynamic as he does, and leave it off music whose notes already shout delight.

Example

Debussy, Trois Chansons de France, Rondel “Le temps a laissé son manteau”, m. 1: “Joyeux et animé” heads both the voice and the piano.

Related Terms