Lunga pausa

As Printed on a Score

Printed over a rest, a fermata on a rest, or the barline between sections, usually just before new music begins; it applies to that one silence, and the music then resumes at the tempo in force.

How Composers Use It

Use it when the silence is part of the music — after a free introduction, before a theme’s first entry, after a climax. Liszt and others mark it so the performer gives the silence its full weight instead of hurrying on. For a precise length, write measured rests or a G.P. with a fermata and a duration instead.

Example

Liszt, Transcendental Étude No. 9 (“Ricordanza”), m. 15: “lunga pausa”, immediately before “dolce, con grazia” in the next bar.

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