Lacrimoso

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff or a vocal line as a character word for a phrase or section, as often in the older spelling lagrimoso as in lacrimoso. It sets a mood rather than a tempo or dynamic and lasts until the next character word; bilingual editions may print a German equivalent such as “klagend” beside it.

Also spelled: lagrimoso

How Composers Use It

Lacrimoso asks for a weeping quality: drooping, sighing phrase endings and a tone that seems about to break. It is more pictorial than mesto (plain sadness) and close to piangendo, which pictures the weeping in progress. Because its colour is strong, it works best on a single phrase or a short passage, a sigh figure or a falling line, rather than over a whole movement, where a broader word such as dolente or mesto wears better.

Example

Mahler, Kindertotenlieder, “In diesem Wetter, in diesem Braus”, voice, m. 54: “lagrimoso”, printed with “klagend” and marked p directly after two bars of ff.

Related Terms