Lento maestoso

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as a heading or at a new section, and in force until the next tempo word; in full scores it is repeated over each instrumental group and in every part.

How Composers Use It

Slow and majestic: a solemn, weighty pace for climaxes, apotheoses and grand final statements, with full tone and firmly placed chords. Lento implies a barer slowness than Largo’s breadth, so Lento maestoso can feel stark and monumental. Because grandeur at slow tempos can sag, keep the harmonic rhythm purposeful and plan the dynamic arc of the passage.

Example

Holst, The Planets, Op. 32, piccolo 1 part: “Lento maestoso”, with mf in the same bar.

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